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

[Winston T. Boogie]

Is there anybody else that finds it sort of depressing that he has gone from being one of the great American actors of his generation to now co-headlining a Zac Efron toilet comedy in the title role as Dirty Grandpa?


I hope that the check was massive and the money is already in the bank, Robert. The scripts coming across his desk are really stuff like The Intern and DIrty Grandpa? And these must be the better scripts because these are the ones he is saying yes to...or the ones offering the most money. Look, I don't begrudge him doing stuff for cash but Dirty Grandpa...really?

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Yeah, I get what you say. I think De Niro passed the tipping point a long time ago - it's not like making lowest common denominator films is a new thing for him. The Focker flicks? "Rocky and Bullwinkle"? It's a long list - "Dirty Grandpa" doesn't represent anything new, IMO - it can't be more foul than "Meet the Fockers"!

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I don't know, Colin, watch the redband trailer and imagine Mr. De Niro sitting in his office reading lines like "I'd rather have Queen Latifah shit in my mouth from a hot air balloon!" and "I haven't had sex in years! I want to f**k, f**k, f**k!" and then thinking "Yeah, I gotta do this film!"

 

[Michael Elliott]

I'm going to be the jerk who defends DeNiro. I think he's given some great performances over the past couple decades but these are the films that no one goes to see. I thought BEING FLYNN was extremely good but I'm not even sure if it made a million at the box office.


The guy is obviously acting to make money for other businesses he has going on and I'm not going to bash him for this. The point of an actor, to an actor, is to work so I'm sure there are many from his generation who wished they could do the films that he is getting.


I admit it's shocking to see him doing direct-to-video releases but at the same time he did many small, no-budget movies in the 70s and 80s that probably paid zero so I don't mind him making up for it now.

 

[Keith Cobby]

I just had a look at his acting list on IMDB and the only title I have on disc is The Untouchables.

 

[atfree]

I just had a look at his acting list on IMDB and the only title I have on disc is The Untouchables.

I only have The Untouchables and The Godfather Part II. Great actor, but never been huge fan of his films. He's never been a big box-office draw but I'm sure if I was in his place and someone offered me a seven or eight figure salary for a few weeks work, I'd be like "When do I start?".

 

[Keith Cobby]

Is he a great actor (what is a great actor?) or is it a phrase that people keep repeating and repeating .......

 

[Citizen87645]

I just had a look at his acting list on IMDB and the only title I have on disc is The Untouchables.

No love for "Heat" or "Ronin?"


"Bad Grandpa" may explain his recent defensiveness in interviews and public appearances.

 

[Ruz-El]

He was great in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK too. He's typically better than his material.


Dudes a working actor in his seventies. If he's picking roles for the cash than so be it. He could be picking roles for the experience too. He's never made a gross out comedy, why not make one? It doesn't mean that his performance in RAGING BULL or TAXI DRIVER are now not two of the most perfect performances in film history just because some of his current films don't work.

 

[Dave B Ferris]

I'm going to be the jerk who defends DeNiro. I think he's given some great performances over the past couple decades but these are the films that no one goes to see. I thought BEING FLYNN was extremely good but I'm not even sure if it made a million at the box office.


The guy is obviously acting to make money for other businesses he has going on and I'm not going to bash him for this. The point of an actor, to an actor, is to work so I'm sure there are many from his generation who wished they could do the films that he is getting.


I admit it's shocking to see him doing direct-to-video releases but at the same time he did many small, no-budget movies in the 70s and 80s that probably paid zero so I don't mind him making up for it now.

The defense would be to cite the model that has traditionally been accepted in Hollywood. I know the model used to be cited for Clint Eastwood.


"One for them and one for me".

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I'm going to be the jerk who defends DeNiro.

I don't think you are a jerk for defending him. I mean I understand he is likely pretty much doing stuff for the money and through the 1970s and 1980s he may have played parts that brought him critical acclaim but these roles may not have paid him in the manner a lot of lesser actors were paid for doing pictures that generated big box office. So, sure he has a right to cash in and I understand that half of the gag when he does comedy roles is that it is supposed to be funny just because it is "Robert De Niro" doing something stupid, or gross, or ridiculous. Hell, De Niro admits he is not a good comic actor but they keep offering him comedies because it is supposed to be funny just because it is him doing it.


I also get that he can't sit around and wait until a decent director like Scorsese or Russell offers him a part in a decent film...but I mean the man is an icon and well respected for doing some great work that influenced a lot of people. So fine do The Intern but do you have to say yes to a piece of garbage like Dirty Grandpa? I mean there must be loads of filmmakers that would like to have Robert De Niro appear in their film so I'm sure he has offers to work so the question becomes why say yes to this? What made him read this script and say "I want to make this picture!" unless this is just a way to give the finger to his critics and to say "You think I appear in bad pictures? Well, here you go! You have not seen a bad picture until you've seen what I do in this!"


Part of me thinks he does not even read scripts anymore unless they are sent to him by a Scorsese or Russell. I think he just talks to his agent and says "Read me the name of the project and the salary they have offered." and just chooses what he will do based on who pays the most.


I also have to say I can't see Mr. De Niro's wife laughing at that Queen Latifah line. In fact I'm pretty sure she would hit him with something heavy if he said that in front of her.

 

[Wayne_j]

I loved DeNiro in The Intern.

 

[TravisR]

So fine do The Intern but do you have to say yes to a piece of garbage like Dirty Grandpa?

I would much rather see Robert DeNiro do a 'vulgar' comedy like Dirty Grandpa over bland romantic comedy junk like The Intern. At least with the cast that Dirty Grandpa has, there's a chance that movie might be funny.



Personally, there's a number of movies that I've seen DeNiro in that make me wonder why he did them but I guess he wants to do as many different types of movies as possible. Whether they're big budget mainstream comedies, romcoms, raunchy comedies, serious dramas, small dramas, little DTV action movies, etc., he just likes doing as many varied roles as possible.

 

[Malcolm R]

It could be "Michael Caine" syndrome, like when Caine couldn't collect his Oscar in 1986 because he was in the Bahamas shooting "Jaws the Revenge," which he admitted was just for the fat paycheck.


That, and I think some actors just get sick of being in serious dramas all the time. Like why Meryl Streep occasionally throws in a film like "Mamma Mia!", "Ricky and the Flash," or "Death Becomes Her," in between the "August: Osage County", "Suffragette", and "Iron Lady" seriousness.

 

[David_B_K]

Reminds me of Olivier's final years. He resolved in his late years to simply go for the money so his family would be taken care of after he was gone. So he became a pitch man for Polaroid cameras and a randy patriarch humping the maid in The Betsy among other things. When these guys first start doing these kinds of movies, I think they are brought in "to add class" to the project. Unfortunately, after doing quite a few, their names lose their luster, and when you see their name in the title you start to assume "this must be another POS - they got so-and-so in it again".

 

[Gary Seven]

Probably just having fun. Feel depressed for him? Hardly. I'm sure he's laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Reminds me of Olivier's final years.

Oy! The Jazz Singer!

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

Sometimes when actors reach a certain age, they aren't getting the parts they used to get. I don't begrudge De Niro or any other actor for agreeing to movies like these. A lot of them will take what's offered because they still love to act and what's wrong with the occasional high paycheque grab? None of these movies have stopped me from enjoying his past movies or had any affect on the quality of those movies and performances. All I know is that I don't have to watch them.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I just wrote a long post defending De Niro, but lost it before hitting the enter key. Anyhow, he's in his 70's and he's still acting which is what a film actor should do because when it's over, it's over.

 

[Vic Pardo]

Since JACKIE BROWN (1997), the only De Niro movies I've seen in theaters have been SHARK TALE (2004, voice only) and KILLER ELITE (2011), both of them terrible.