Story of movie Steal This Movie! : Steal This Movie! is a 2000 American biographical film directed by Robert Greenwald and written by Bruce Graham, based on a number of books, including To America with Love: Letters From the Underground by Anita and Abbie Hoffman and Abbie Hoffman: American Rebel by Marty Jezer. The film follows 1960s radical figure Abbie Hoffman, and stars Vincent D'Onofrio and Janeane Garofalo, with Jeanne Tripplehorn and Kevin Pollak.
| Steal This Movie! | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Robert Greenwald |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Starring |
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| Music by | Mader |
| Cinematography | Denis Lenoir |
| Edited by | Kimberly Ray |
Production company |
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| Distributed by | Lions Gate Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $76,424 |
The film follows Hoffman's (D'Onofrio) relationship with his second wife Anita (Garofalo) and their "awakening" and subsequent conversion to an activist life. The title of the film is a play on Hoffman's 1970 counter-culture guidebook titled Steal This Book.
Screenplay
- Vincent D'Onofrio ... Abbie Hoffman
- Janeane Garofalo ... Anita Hoffman
- Jeanne Tripplehorn ... Johanna Lawrenson
- Kevin Pollak ... Gerry Lefcourt
- Donal Logue ... Stew Albert
- Kevin Corrigan ... Jerry Rubin
- Alan Van Sprang ... David Glenn
- Troy Garity ... Tom Hayden (father of Troy Garity)
- Michael Cera ... america Hoffman (age 7)
- Ingrid Veninger ... Judy Albert
- Stephen Marshall ... Louis Wertzel
- Joyce Gordon ... Florence Hoffman
- Bernard Kay ... John Hoffman
- Jean Daigle ... Sheriff
- Johnie Chase ... Josh
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 51% based on 43 reviews, and an average rating of 4.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "D'Onofrio's performance fails to do justice to Hoffman, and the depiction of the 60s also rings false." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 36 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
Some criticism of the film is that it is hagiographic of Abbie Hoffman and fails to give proper credit to other activists of the era like Paul Krassner, who co-founded the Yippies with Hoffman and his wife. Other critics disliked the film's editing, which frequently relied upon the use of documentary footage, voiceovers, and subtitles to help advance the plot. However, nearly all film reviewers agreed that the strong acting performance of Vincent D'Onofrio as Hoffman overcame the film's otherwise minor flaws and modest budget.
In September 2000, america Hoffman, son of Abbie and Anita, filed suit against Lions Gate Films in an attempt to block further distribution of the film, accusing the filmmakers of invasion of privacy and presenting an "unauthorized, false and uncomplimentary portrayal" of him as a child. In the suit, america protested his portrayal in the film as "a wimpy, quiet, sulking and effeminate 'mama's boy,'" and accused filmmakers of implying america "may be a homosexual." america later dropped the suit and retracted his claims against the filmmakers, stating "I understand that the filmmaker's characterization of me and my relationship to my father was made in good faith and with honorable intentions."
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