Okay, this hilarious meme has nothing to do with J. Edgar Hoover or the film bearing his name, but it has a government feel and a sexy feel. But now I think about it, you would have NEVER heard the late FBI director say anything with the term “pussy” in it. That’s a joke, I think.
I had let my copy of J. Edgar from Blockbuster sit around for about a week until I finally decided to watch it last night. By the way, I’m giving up on DVD subscriptions for a while. Who has time? And in the end, I think going to a store or a Redbox is cheaper. Anyhoo, my Dad, a retired social studies teacher, had gone to see this movie and he wasn’t that wild about it. I knew I wanted to see it, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to get. Hoover, who served as FBI director for nearly 50 years, was a man ahead of his time in ways of gathering evidence via DNA and fingerprinting, but he also was known for secret wire taps and a very secret sex life. You know, that whole cross-dressing thing?
There is only one scene in J. Edgar that alludes to Hoover’s fetish. SPOILER ALERT! When his mother dies, Hoover tries on one of her favorite necklaces and then proceeds to put on one of her dresses. And then he collapses into a sobbing ball on the floor. Leonardo DiCaprio is actually quite good as the controversial head G-man, and even better is Armie Hammer as Hoover’s longtime associate and probably lover, Clyde Tolson. Tolson is potrayed as the flamboyant one in the relationship, but he apparently did his share of work for the FBI. He was acting FBI chief after Hoover’s death in 1972 but was soon replaced by Nixon appointee L. Patrick Gray, and then Watergate figure Mark Felt AKA “Deep Throat”.
I found Hoover’s rigid personality a turn-off. The film is basically 75 percent flashback with Hoover dictating his life story to various agents in 1963. A bulk of the film is dedicated to the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and investigation. Hoover embellishes the story as he did with many other portions of his life. Though Charles Lindbergh’s body was eventually found, Hoover’s men arrested Bruno Hauptmann, he was then convicted and, under New Jersey law, put to death.
I’m usually a fan of Clint Eastwood‘s movies, but this one just didn’t flow and there wasn’t enough story about the years between Hauptmann’s conviction and when Hoover is dictating his story. I do applaud Eastwood’s effort to tell a little bit of a love story which Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black wrote the script. If I was grading this, I would give it a solid C.
PS, I want Bill Clinton back!
Unfiltered Pop 