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CibbuanoRobert De Niro: A Guide to his Film Roles (Part 5 - the 2000s)
April 9th 2007 04:35
Well, here we are, Part 5 of my guide to De Niro films. It's unfortunate that what started as a celebration of such a great actor has to end with mentions of so many average and unimpressive films. To be truthful, I'm kind of put off from finishing this guide because barely any of these films do anything for me, but lucky for you guys I'm a completist and I'm anal about finishing what I start. Anyway, the late 90s and early 21st century has seen De Niro hit the absolute low point of his acting career and - ironically - seen his paycheques hit their highest peak. It's sad that the ratio of pay to performance is of such an inverse nature, but I guess that's Hollywood for you.
Paul Vitti (Analyze This, Analyze That)
Analyze This (1999) Directed by Harold Ramis
Analyze That (2002) Directed by Harold Ramis
Paul Vitti: De Niro does a Brando ala 'The Freshman' and gives us his own take on self-parody in these two Harold Ramis-directed buddy comedies. Sometimes verging on an outright spoof of Mafia films, these two movies are inoffensive enough. I think I'd have to say the first is the better of the two, the second one tends to stretch the concept a little too far. De Niro hams it up as the emotional Mafia don in need of therapy, constantly mugging at the camera and using his screen presence to create what is supposed to be some kind of endearing bully character. The pairing of De Niro with Billy Crystal would be the first of several unlikely pairings of comedians with the legendary method actor, the idea obviously being to amuse the audience with the juxtaposition of two very different kind of movie stars. It works to a degree in 'Meet the Parents' because De Niro keeps things relatively serious there (and it worked much better in 'Midnight Run' for the same reason), but here De Niro tries to be whacky and the results are less than hilarious. The second film in particular, 'Analyze That', gave me a healthy dose of cringe with De Niro's recreation of West Side Story musical numbers and his comedic mugging amping up to the next level.
Walt Koontz (Flawless)
Flawless (1999) Directed by Joel Schumacher
Walt Koontz: You'd be forgiven for thinking that the teaming up of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robert De Niro would be a stroke of casting genius, but this thoroughly uninteresting film manages to take a borderline-interesting concept and beat it to a boring pulp. De Niro plays Walt Koontz, a tango-loving security guard who hates homosexuals, and Philip Seymour Hoffman is his brash drag queen neighbour, Rusty. No, it's not a comedy. Anyway, Walt suffers a stroke that leaves him permanantly and partially paralysed, and he is forced to take stock of his life. Amazingly, he is eventually forced to ask Rusty for help, and Walt must swallow his pride and face his prejudices head on. I've never really been a fan of Joel Schumacher's films, and this gritty, empty film is no exception. De Niro gives us the bare minimum in terms of his performance, and what could've been something new and intriguing from Bob becomes just another forgettable drama of little consequence. The average filmgoer will be amused enough by these films but De Niro fans might find them a little depressing.
Leslie Sunday (Men of Honor
Men of Honor (2000) Directed by George Tillman Jr.
Leslie 'Billy' Sunday: De Niro plays the major supporting role in this biopic of real-life navy diver, Carl Brashear (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.), the first African-American diver in the American navy. It's an uplifting but overdone film that verges more on melodrama than drama where De Niro plays a senior member of the navy who overcomes his own prejudices and comes to respect Brashear. It's an okay performance I guess, De Niro uses a southern accent and makes full use of his trusty depths of intimidation and inner rage, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. Not a bad film, but not a great one either.
Jack Byrnes (Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers)
Meet the Parents (2000) Directed by Jay Roach
Meet the Fockers (2004) Directed by Jay Roach
Jack Byrnes: Of all the recent 6 or 7 comedies he has done in the last eight years, 'Meet the Parents' is probably the one least offensive to his previous body of work. De Niro plays ex-CIA agent Jack Byrnes and potential father-in-law to awkward nurse, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller). Jack takes an instant disliking to his prospective son-in-law, and the rest of the film (and the sequel too) plays out like a modern-day comedy of errors, with Greg making things worse for himself with each step he tries to take towards Jack. De Niro underplays his role and, for the most part, it works. I know I've mentioned how films have used his screen presence a few times before in this guide, but it's never been more effectively used than the way it's used here - the weight of De Niro's intimidation can be felt pushing down Greg all the way throughout 'Meet the Parents'. De Niro apparently even ignored and osctracized Stiller during the making of the film to help heighten the chemistry. The second film, 'Meet the Fockers', muddies up the dynamic a bit by introducing more characters and stars (Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman) and makes Jack less of an opposing force and more a fish out of water, which unfortunately dilutes the central premise a bit. 'Meet the Fockers' is enterning enough but De Niro isn't used as well by the script and director. As is usually the case, the first is the better of the two films.
Nick Wells (The Score)
The Score (2001) Directed by Frank Oz (and Robert De Niro)
Nick Wells: Film fans got - understandably - a little excited when it was announced that Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando and Edward Norton would be making a film together. This Canadian-set heist thriller sees De Niro head up the cast in what can only be described as 'a missed opportunity'. Let's face it, De Niro was just getting to the point where he didn't really care that much anymore, and Brando had reached same said point decades earlier. The only person who seems to really be trying at all is Edward Norton, but even his efforts are wasted in this lame and lacklustre action movie. 'The Score' was apparently plagued by problems on set thanks to Brando's refusal to work while director Frank Oz was in the same room (hence De Niro was forced to unofficially direct parts of the film). A very mediocre movie, barely even worth watching for the meeting of three generations of method actors.
Mitch Preston (Showtime)
Showtime (2002) Directed by Tom Dey
Mitch Preston: You know you're in trouble when the highlight of a movie is an extended cameo by William Shatner. Since I haven't seen 'The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle', I can pretty much safely say this is the worst De Niro movie I've ever watched. Our boy Bob plays Mitch Preston, a serious LAPD detective who gets paired up with Trey Sellers (Eddie Murphy), a beat cop who wants to be an actor, for a reality TV cop show. The results are your typical buddy-cop comedy, De Niro plays the serious by-the-book veteran hampered by the inept younger buffoon, and frankly - for the audience - it's a match made in hell. Not really all that funny a film, and De Niro gives his lines with minimal effort. Worst of all, Bob got paid 17.5 million for this drivel.
Don Lino (Shark Tale)
Shark Tale (2004) Directed by Bibo Bergeron, Vicky Jenson and Rob Letterman
Don Lino: De Niro lends his New York twang to this mafia-parodying computer-animated comedy. He plays Don Lino, the Godfather of the sharks, and his animated counterpart is an amusing caricature of his various gangster-related roles. Not really much to say, it's an okay film - a bit too flooded with pop-culture references for my liking, but entertaining all the same. De Niro does what the role asks of him, he gives as good as anyone else and isn't too subtle or unsuited to voice-over work.
Bill Sullivan (The Good Shepherd)
The Good Shepherd (2006) Directed by Robert De Niro
Bill Sullivan: De Niro plays a minor but important role in this sprawling espionage epic as General Bill Sullivan, a man instrumental in the creation of the CIA. He pretty much only has three scenes, and his character is this ailing, ageing old influential soldier. It's a decent enough role, and De Niro is pretty good in it, but like I said - it's only a small role. It does, however, give me hope that we will seen a turn back to some more interesting, older roles for De Niro in the not too distant future. This film is an intriguing pet project of De Niro the director too, and whilst it's by no means a perfect film, it's worth seeing for it's ambitious attempt to sum up 30 odd years of CIA history and the assemblage of an impressive all-star cast.
And that brings us up to speed. As De Niro seemed to stop trying in the last ten years I too seemed to stop caring, so I haven't been as vigilant about seeing his more recent films as I have about seeing his earlier ones. So there are a few I've missed in this part of the guide... 'The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle' (2000) is one of the few kid's movies De Niro has featured in, and the pictures and reviews I've seen of it haven't really inspired me to watch a copy. '15 Minutes' (2001) is an action-drama about criminals getting their fifteen of fame via the media, I've seen it but I didn't include it in this list because I didn't really pay that much attention to it when I watched it... De Niro plays a media-savvy cop in it. 'City by the Sea' (2002) sees De Niro play yet another cop, it doesn't look very interesting but I'll probably get around to watching it eventually. 'Godsend' (2004) is an apparently mediocre horror movie that has De Niro in a supporting role as a shifty scientist of some sort. 'The Bridge of San Luis Rey' (2004) is a little-known drama of some sort that features De Niro in a small supporting role as the Archbishop of Peru. 'Hide and Seek' (2005) is a horror film co-starring Dakota Fanning, and apparently De Niro puts a little more effort in here than he has been in other films lately, so I'll probably check this one out eventually. 'Arthur and the Invisibles' (2006) is a french kid's film directed by Luc Besson, and De Niro provides the voice of the King for the English version. The next film set to come out that features De Niro is 'Stardust', a fantasy film where Bob plays the character of Captain Shakespeare. It has an interestig cast - Peter O'Toole, Ricky Gervais, Ian McKellan, Claire Danes - so it might be worth checking out.
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Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
I have always loved his dramatic intensity and was chuffed with his attempt at humour in the "Analyse" duplo, with BillyC. And in Meet the Flokers, I think he nailed comedy b-e-a-utifully! I laughed and laughed.
I haven't seen the Good Shepherd yet, waiting for it to appear on DVD.
Thanks for a really interesting expose on what is without doubt one of Hollywoods finest.
Cheers,
Lilla ...