Review – Melvin and Howard

What a great double feature this would make with The Aviator. An old Martin Scorsese making a movie about a young Howard Hughes, and then a young Jonathan Demme making a movie at least in part about an old Howard Hughes. But of course Hughes isn’t the real point here. The hero in this production is Melvin Dummar, a poor white guy with Ralph Cramden dreams. His wife leaves him repeatedly because he’s such a loser. Indeed, much of the movie plays like an episode of “Cops” only without the cops. The trick here is that early on Melvin rescues an aged Howard Hughes from the cold, nighttime desert where he’s been stranded by a motorcycle accident. Though at first the two don’t exactly hit it off, before the end of the trip Melvin has Howard singing along with the stupid “Santa’s Souped-Up Sleigh” song he’s made up. Evidently the experience may have left a lasting impression on Hughes, because when he died one of the wills that turned up included a multi-million-dollar bequest to Dummar. That few believe Melvin’s story is almost beside the point. Instead, one can’t help but agree with his ultimate conclusion: the fact that it happened at all is almost better than the money would have been. Worth seeing