Hi, Mom!

A sequel to Greetings that sees Robert De Niro reprising his role as Jon Rubin, now a Vietnam War vet returned home to New York City.

Director Brian De Palma retains the prior film’s vignette structure, with Rubin opening the film attempting a career in voyeuristic porn, then joining a militant theater group, before going deep undercover himself.

As with Greetings, I loved the New York City photography. And I enjoyed seeing De Niro’s growth as a performer. But once again, I struggled to connect with the film’s humor. Granted, Hi, Mom! proved more accessible than Greetings—the “Be Black Baby” theater sequence in particular. But I still felt I was missing context and nuance a 1970s audience would have grasped.