Site created 12/15/97.		page created: 1/8/03 Say it Isn't So, Mr. DeNiro! No Method and No Madness Makes Bobby a Very Dull Boy Back to Part One Bob Banka - Main Page Also note that the better performances in this middle period have DeNiro cast as ill, unstable, or dangerous characters - as in Awakenings, Cape Fear and Once Upon a Time in America. This is where DeNiro has always excelled. When he's turned his attention to parts requiring less effort - playing characters that are more grounded, law abiding or "normal," his work has been less impressive. As Al Capone in The Untouchables Sometimes the blame was in the script. Sometimes the problem was the identity of the character itself - a crime scene photographer, an unhappily married architect, or an illiterate chap working in a factory kitchen. Here we can perhaps blame DeNiro for electing to play less interesting characters in near weightless films. On other occasions, the trouble was the actor's hammy-ness, or an inability to make a character interesting and credible. DeNiro's turns in We're No Angels and The Mission are striking examples. Then there were characters that were just plain dull, lifeless, and forgettable - see Guilt by Suspicion and Mistress. As Mendoza in The Mission This brings us to Robert DeNiro's most recent, and most disappointing efforts. I loved his brilliant earlier work, and a few performances in his middle period are remarkable, but this recent phase presents an actor who seems to have lost an interest in taking on challenges. Witness... Dwight in Michael Caton-Jones' This Boy's Life The Creature in Kenneth Branagh's Frankenstein Sam 'Ace' Rothstein in Martin Scorsese's Casino Neil McCauley in Michael Mann's Heat Gil Renard in Tony Scott's The Fan Father Bobby in Barry Levinson's Sleepers Dr. Wally in Jerry Zak's Marvin's Room Lt. Moe Tilden in James Mangold's Copland Conrad Brean in Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog Louis Gara in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown Arthur Lustig in Alfonso Cuaron's Great Expectations Sam in John Frankenheimer's Ronin Paul Vitti in Harold Ramis' Analyze This Walt Koontz in Joel Schumacher's Flawless Fearless Leader in Des McAnuff's The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle Billy Sunday in George Tillman Jr.'s Men of Honor Jack Byrnes in Jay Roach's Meet the Parents Det. Eddie Fleming in John Hertzfeld's 15 Minutes Nick Wells in Frank Oz's The Score Det. Mitch Preston in Tom Dey's Showtime Det. Vincent La Marca in Michael Caton-Jones's City by the Sea Paul Vitti in Harold Ramis' Analyze That Note once again how busy Robert DeNiro has been compared to his pace during his earlier period (...twenty films in ten years). Also note that as before, there are a number of very fine performances - for example, his work in Casino, Heat, Wag the Dog and City by the Sea. But the characters portrayed fail to present challenges to an actor of Robert DeNiro's caliber - the skill demonstrated during his earlier period is not so evident. Nearly all the work is good - even very good, but it's easy to imagine a number of moderately talented actors currently in the business doing the job just as well, even better. One of the yardsticks by which I've always measured an actor's performance is to ask myself whether or not I could imagine other actors being just as convincing in the part as the performer in question. The roles taken on by DeNiro during this most recent decade are "softer." The characters aren't striking. They don't endure significant emotional changes during the run of the story. Many of the characters drift along at even keel during much of the film. Casino, Flawless and City by the Sea are exceptions here. As the creature in Frankenstein There were a few harmless, smaller parts taken during this period, as in Great Expectations, Sleepers, and Marvin's Room. Patterns begin to evolve. DeNiro is repeating himself in ways that compel dedicated fans to compare what he's doing now with work he's done in the past. Today's work rarely rises above being but a shadow in the mountain of the brilliant work DeNiro accomplished on the past. For example, The Fan had us thinking about the other "unstable" characters he had already fleshed out on screen. Though the performance was believable (...sometimes a bit hammy), we'd seen it all before - only better. If one compares DeNiro's efforts in Heat, Casino, Ronin and The Score (...even Wag the Dog in some respects), one sees little difference in the approach taken by DeNiro to create his characters. The roles are very similar. These are expert heist men. They're well dressed thieves - men nearly always in absolute control of themselves and their destinies, for most if not all of the film. They're steady and stable. If one compares DeNiro's work in Copland, 15 Minutes and City by the Sea one notes similarities as well. Again, the characters are even-tempered pros, only this time they're cops instead of crooks. The three characters in these films, along with the four criminal roles noted above, offer little variation in personalities for DeNiro to flesh out. He's playing the same tune, though the characters are working opposite sides of the law. As Vincent LaMarca in City by the Sea Then there's DeNiro's lunge into comedy - something attempted earlier in his career, but which met with poor results. During this later period, he played for chuckles in Analyze This, Analyze That, Meet the Parents, Showtime and The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. Analyze This worked well, but not because DeNiro produced a unique, memorable character. It worked because we saw Robert DeNiro the actor playing the part of a character he's played before, but this time for laughs. The chortles came only because it was DeNiro playing the part. DeNiro was doing a parody of his own previous work. This was effective and quite funny. Marlon Brando pulled this off as well by playing a Vito Corleone send up in the The Freshman. Analyze This also worked because it had a splendid script and the witty pairing of DeNiro with Billy Crystal. Unfortunately, a sequel followed (...how could they possibly resist in this era of go-for- the-sure-thing sequels). Slogging to this well a second time was a mistake. Watching DeNiro pull the same shtick doesn't tickle the funny bone. Analyze That played too obviously for what it was - a slap- dash, assembly line piece, intended to cash in on the triumph of the original feature. This is true of nearly all sequels. Look for more of the same result when the Meet the Parents sequel makes it to the big screen. It's coming. Again - how can they resist? Until now, DeNiro had avoided sequels - playing the same character a second time around. I always thought this had been an artistic decision on his part - a desire to avoid repeating himself, to look for new challenges. Perhaps this was true, but obviously only up to a point. With his own Tribeca films, and other business ventures to tend to, perhaps art has taken a back seat to financial concerns. It's happened to many in his position. Of course, Meet the Parents was a huge success. However, this had less to do with DeNiro's performance and more to do with the presence of Ben Stiller who was riding a wave of success at the time. I found myself chuckling during a few scenes, but again - the laughs are owed to the fact that DeNiro is playing off of his own earlier creations. Payne is obsessive - off kilter, but he only reminds us of the actor's work in more serious roles (...you can bet this was intentional). However, this was not an outright parody as in Analyze This and its sequel. As for Showtime - why even bother? This was a very bad film. It's some of the worst material DeNiro has ever thrown himself into. It's completely unfunny, unoriginal and forgettable - a waste of film. This is an example of the type of film and performance I could never have imagined DeNiro considering fifteen or twenty years ago. The same can be said for The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. It's beyond comprehension. With Eddie Murphy in Showtime This brings us back to where we started. Is Robert DeNiro's career in decline? Absolutely - for some of the reasons noted above (...spread too thin, pressures to keep big bucks rolling in to finance other concerns, poor script choices, poor decisions to go for big laughs in ill-conceived comedies, too much "hammy before the cammy," and so on). So what's a talented actor to do? It's too easy to suggest better selectivity when browsing scripts for projects. Material can look great on paper, but so many things can go wrong as it passes from script to screen. Often, real juicy, meaty stuff becomes bland and laced with gristle. You can be certain however, that DeNiro still gets offers to play some very good parts. One wonders if he's passing on them, because they present too much of a challenge. Perhaps his instincts tell him certain roles will be too time-consuming, too demanding - so he passes. It's unfair to suggest DeNiro should work once again with his old friend Martin Scorsese to get revitalized. Has there EVER been a better teaming of actor and director in film history? I don't think so. Even when the films disappointed (...New York, New York) one was still certain both actor and director poured out heart and soul to fashion something artistic and memorable. A commercial hit would've been a bonus, but it's doubtful that was THE primary concern for Scorsese and DeNiro during production. The problem is, Scorsese's efforts have been focused on films requiring younger performers in leading roles (...for example, Bringing Out the Dead, Gangs of New York and the upcoming The Aviator, a biopic about Howard Hughes to star DiCaprio). Perhaps a suitable project will present itself in the near future. As for comedies, I for one wish DeNiro would steer clear of them in the future. His willingness to take on funny material might indicate a desire to find an easy way out - after all, most comedies lack characters requiring much in the way of preparation a la the "method". For example, what prep was required for DeNiro to play Paul Vitti in Analyze This? He's been doing the gangster routine long enough. And what prep was needed to play the cop in Showtime? By now, DeNiro has more time on the force than Barney Miller. Comedies may present an easier road with respect to character preparation, but DeNiro may have forgotten what most actors of stage and screen know very well - comedy is tough. It's not his forte and he should avoid it at all costs. Sequels! I have little good to say about them when any actor or subject is concerned. They rarely live up to expectations. They certainly make the box office silly with delight, and studios can't seem to chunk them off the line fast enough. However, performances are usually lack luster the second (...or third, or fourth) time around. The players often cruise on a sort of autopilot. All went well the first time around. Whatever they did, they must've done it right, so why diddle around with things? Hey - take the money and run, baby! A second Meet the Parents film is in the chute, and I'll bet you a large buttered popcorn and a roll of Sweet Tarts there'll be a third if Universal has anything to say about it. I just wonder how on Earth they'll ever manage to top the laughs they got when they had a truck's spinning wheels slosh raw sewage all over DeNiro's mugging face. Oh my! If Mr. DeNiro has any say whatsoever concerning who directs the features he takes an interest in, he should consider that in the past ten years he's worked with a number of near unknowns, and it's not been the way to go. Recall... Alfonso Cuaron directed Great Expectations. His other credits included: A Little Princess, Love in the Time of Hysteria, and an episode for the TV series Fallen Angles. Des McAnuff helmed The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. His other credit included: Cousin Bette - that's all, folks! John Herzfeld directed 15 Minutes. His other credits included: a fair amount of work for television, Two of a Kind (…which you may recall starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton John) and Two Days in the Valley - a good film to be sure. That's all. Tom Dey directed Showtime. His other credit included Shanghai Noon. I know - many folks thoroughly enjoyed the film. I couldn't think less of it. The question is - how do these relatively inexperienced directors get the go-ahead to helm pictures starring Robert DeNiro? The salary this man gets alone should make studios balk at putting an unknown in charge. In the near future, DeNiro will be under the direction of Nick Hamm for something called Godsend, and Jonathan Glazer for Chaos. Again, these fellows have little experience helming major productions. This is not to say that directors new to bigger Hollywood feature films are necessarily doomed to Flopsville. Many a filmmaker new to the game has managed to fashion a superb film. However, why do studios gamble when they have an actor like Robert DeNiro ready to sign on the line that is dotted? And why does an actor like Mr. DeNiro risk placing himself under the direction of relatively untried talents? Perhaps studios now believe the name "Robert DeNiro" on a poster is enough to sell features to the public and guarantee box office success. Until recently, this was not been the case. In the past, DeNiro was not so popular with the larger percentage of typical movie going audiences. Critics adored and respected his work, and dedicated fans familiar with his earlier work (...myself included) took an interest in most anything did. But DeNiro was not likely to carry bloated budget features into high profits all by himself. The situation has changed. DeNiro's appearances in Analyze This, Showtime and Meet the Parents have introduced him to a larger, younger audience - a part of the population the actor had yet to make an impression on. Though his efforts in these features fall WELL short of the work he accomplished in the past, these films made a pile of money for Warner Brothers and Universal. This is a great thing for the studios, but a sad one for those who've grown up in awe and appreciation of Robert DeNiro's work. It's good for the studios because, while it lasts, they stand to make a great deal of money whenever DeNiro's on the team. It's a concern for fans like me, because as long as these films and their sequels make money, they'll continue to slither into cineplexes. As a result, DeNiro will land fatter contracts, and his incentive to take on tougher, more interesting roles will continue to whither. It's difficult to stress and strain for art, once it's become so easy to stoop and scoop for sludge - especially when the low road garners heftier paydays, and more offers for the same. Bob Banka bobbanka@thedigitalbits.com Bob Banka - Main Page
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