How others will see it. Can white men sing the blues? Can they raise a kid by themselves, and manage a career? Is an inconsistent mommy a better parent than a dedicated daddy? Isn't Justin Henry adorable?
Most people will identify with Kramer vs. Kramer, even though it is told from the father's point of view (actually a less interesting perspective than that of the mother or child). Although Streep is, of course, a notable actress, her character is less sympathetic. She loves her child, but her life is prone to change directions. While this would make for a page-turning biography, it may not provide an ideal environment for winsome Billy.
How I felt about it. When Streep returns to New York to reclaim her son, she mentions that she had found her True Self (or some such thing) through therapy. However, the new Streep seems as weepy and determinedly relationship destructive as before. She means well, but has a restless nature, and in her own way is as self-involved as Hoffman before their break-up. The need for Streep to move on compromises her relationships, including the one that matters to her, with her son.
It is Hoffman who has changed. In the beginning, he is an obsessive corporate ladder climber. It's not that he enjoys work. It's more like, the advertising game has consumed his being. It's no wonder that Streep left such a single-minded, frequently absent bore.
But, once she has exited stage left, Hoffman decides that being a good parent trumps even his esteemed career. Work comes second, which is quickly noted and acted upon by his bosses. The top heads on the totem pole are able to delegate family matters to their wives, or else have no family at all.
His friend Jane Alexander is surprised that Hoffman changes suddenly from career man to family man. Perhaps his enthusiasm hasn't changed, only its target. Certainly, he doesn't miss Streep as a companion, having valued her principally as a household manager.
The allegedly ugly courtroom battle between the Kramers is actually the secondary story. The main story is Hoffman's transition. The courtroom testimony seems tame by modern standards, which dictates that the lawyer-manipulated parents compete to be the first to allege abuse by the other parent to coerce custody.
Here, Hoffman and Streep feel guilty about their lawyers merely emphasizing unpleasant truths. And in an unlikely anti-climax, they end up settling their custody apart from the court decision.