Fosse’s raw and immediate black-and-white film is a stunning portrait of his friend, the infamous 1960s stand-up comedian and iconoclast Lenny Bruce, persecuted in his time for his "obscene" and topical acts and celebrated only after his death from a drug overdose. Like other Fosse films, Lenny is told in flashback in order to illustrate the insight that is gained from hindsight. It is also another Fosse statement on the theme of the stage as a forum for exposing the underbelly of life. Hoffman is predictably brilliant in the role of Bruce, and Valerie Perrine—as Honey, the stripper with whom Bruce embarks on a tumultuous marriage—provides strong support.