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So, Robert De Niro...is it just me or... (1 Viewer)

Winston T. Boogie

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I liked it but based on the performance of the film I was certainly in the minority. I brought it up because De Niro has done comedy in the past and much better stuff, in my opinion, than the crap "shock and offend" nonsense he is up to in Dirty Grandpa. I loved Midnight Run too and that was somewhat successful I believe.

I can't speak to what people find boring but at least to me there was nothing boring about Neil Jordan's take on We're No Angels. Everybody likes different things though and we don't all find the same stuff funny.

You know maybe we should feel worse for Zac Efron. At least with De Niro people are saying "Bob, come on you are better than this garbage." but with Zac they seem to pretty much feel a film like Dirty Grandpa is exactly where he belongs...how bad is that?
 
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Michael Elliott

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Who called "Dirty Grandpa" the worst movie ever made or put it on a par with "Plan 9"? I skimmed reviews on RT and didn't see comments of those sort. They thought it was a terrible movie - as do you, apparently - but I saw no declarations that it got comments along the lines you indicate.

Worst De Niro movie? Saw that. Candidate for worst movie of 2016? Saw that. Worst movie ever made? Didn't see that...

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dirty-grandpa-2016

The actor Bela Lugosi appeared in some landmark, perhaps even great, films at the beginning of his Hollywood career in the 1930s. They include Browning’s “Dracula” and Ulmer’s “The Black Cat.” Lugosi’s final film was 1959’s “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” frequently cited as the worst film ever made. The cinematic landmarks of De Niro’s career include films such as Coppola’s “The Godfather, Part II” and Scorsese’s “Raging Bull.” He has been featured in a good number of very bad films in the years since. But this? This might just be his own “Plan 9.”

I'm also not sure I'd say the movie bombed. It's second weekend drop wasn't nearly as bad as most films like this. FIFTY SHADES OF BLACK will probably make less and feature a much bigger drop (not that comparing this to that is high praise).
 

davidmatychuk

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The
If that article Mike posted above is correct about De Niro getting $20 million to appear in a comedy then that is reason enough for him to have done this film. I would have also appeared in Dirty Grandpa for $20 million...I would not want to see it no matter who was in it but I can understand him taking the money.
Really, it's "Raging Bull" and "The Godfather Part II" and "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver" (I could go on and on) that they're paying him $20 million for. Did he get $20 million for any of those? No. But he's getting it now, and he deserves it.
 

Colin Jacobson

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http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dirty-grandpa-2016

The actor Bela Lugosi appeared in some landmark, perhaps even great, films at the beginning of his Hollywood career in the 1930s. They include Browning’s “Dracula” and Ulmer’s “The Black Cat.” Lugosi’s final film was 1959’s “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” frequently cited as the worst film ever made. The cinematic landmarks of De Niro’s career include films such as Coppola’s “The Godfather, Part II” and Scorsese’s “Raging Bull.” He has been featured in a good number of very bad films in the years since. But this? This might just be his own “Plan 9.”

I'm also not sure I'd say the movie bombed. It's second weekend drop wasn't nearly as bad as most films like this. FIFTY SHADES OF BLACK will probably make less and feature a much bigger drop (not that comparing this to that is high praise).

I don't think the ebert.com comment implies that "DG" is as bad as "Plan 9" - it implies that "DG' may stand as the biggest blotch/embarrassment on De Niro's record.

"Plan 9" is viewed as an atrocity largely due to its amateurishness. I get the impression "DG" is a professional film - it's just seen as a really bad film.

And "DG" has made $24 million - "bomb" is a subjective term, but whether or not the movie's a quote-unquote "bomb", it did poorly at the box office. Maybe it makes it to $30 million - that's a bad total for a 2016 movie with big-name actors involved...
 

Aaron Silverman

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I have a feeling that the producers of this one expected from the beginning that it'd make most of its money on disc/ streaming.
 

Dick

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I think that very few screenwriters are writing with a specific actor in mind anymore, a practice that was much more common in the past. De Niro therefore has a lot of generic crap offered him, and he wants to remain soluble, which I am afraid has resulted in his taking many, many mediocre to crumby roles. Not many actors over 50 can afford to turn down stuff they are handed (which always amazes me, as these people earn millions in a year, yet always seem to come up short) Yes, it's sad to see icons like De Niro and Brando and their ilk take on roles that will actually hurt their reps in the long run, but it's not a new practice in Tinseltown.
 

Winston T. Boogie

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Mark Kermode gives his thoughts (spoiler free if you really intend to watch this) on Dirty Grandpa and admits he regrets ever seeing it and wishes he could un-see it.



His last line about the film is great but really he looks like he wants to cry having to face up to the sad fact that De Niro elected to be in this mess.
 

Dr Griffin

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I didn't think this was going to be that bad, but it sounds like a mess. It may be a commentary on what some producers think the American public wants to see (and may in fact be that very thing, I don't know). I am not even close to being a prude, but I probably won't even rent this.
 

Winston T. Boogie

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De Niro seems not to be doing any press for this film...which seems to indicate where he stands on it. I mean he even went out to promote Righteous Kill but I don't think he has done a single interview to promote Dirty Grandpa.
 

TravisR

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De Niro seems not to be doing any press for this film...which seems to indicate where he stands on it. I mean he even went out to promote Righteous Kill but I don't think he has done a single interview to promote Dirty Grandpa.
My guess is that DeNiro has got it set up that he doesn't have to do press for the non-studio stuff. Probably as far as he and his agent are concerned, his name is promotion enough.
 

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