In this very late 60's irreverent, almost anarchic low-budget film, Brian De Palma defines more of his strange, given Hitchcock-like fascination of voyeurism, and attacks the issues of the day. The most prominent of which, both cringe-inducing and just plain funny, is when he focuses on the black-power movement (a black woman handing out fliers asking white people 'do you know what it's like to be black'), which is something that could only work for that time and place, not before or now. But one of the key things to the interest in the film is 27 year old Robert De Niro (not his first or last film with the director), who plays this character who sits in a room looking out through his telescope at women in their rooms, setting up phony deals, and in the end basically throwing bombs. Those who have said that De Niro can't act and just is himself in every movie should see this movie, if only out of some minor curiosity. A couple of times in the film it's actually not funny, as when there's a disturbance in a black-power meeting (filmed in a grainer, rougher style than the rest of the film). In the end it's capped off with a rambling monologue in an interview that tops De Niro's in King of Comedy. It's pretty obvious where De Palma's career would go after this, into slightly more mainstream Hollywood territory, but all of his trademarks are here; the dark, almost nail-biting comedy, the perfectly timed style of voyeurism, and interesting usage of locals. Think if De Palma and De Niro did a Monty Python film, only even more low-budget and in its New York way just as off-the-hinges, and you got Hi, Mom! It also contains an eccentric and funny soundtrack. imdb comment
Lee Holloway(玛吉·吉伦哈尔 Maggie Gyllenhaal 饰)生活在一个不和谐的家庭里,从小就有“自毁”的行为,在精神治疗中心治疗一段时间回到家后,她要重新融入正常人的生活。于是她学习了打字,在一家律师事务所找到了一份打字员的工作。一开始,Lee打字出现了很多毛病,被她的雇主E. Edward Grey(詹姆斯·斯派德 James Spader 饰)发现,Grey把Lee叫到了他的办公室,为了让Lee深刻记得她的错误,他让Lee趴在书桌上,然后他开始拿起皮鞭对她进行性虐待。久而久之,两人产生了一种奇妙的情感,这也从另一方面减弱了Lee的“自毁”倾向。Lee爱上了Grey,然而Grey却羞于让人知道他的怪癖,于是他解雇了Lee。Lee的男友Peter(杰瑞米·戴维斯 Jeremy Davies 饰)向她求婚,她答应了,然而在婚礼当天,她却逃到了Grey的办公室.....