What's the deal with Robert De Niro? His big release this year is
Little Fockers. Forgive me if I'm underwhelmed by that particular project. I mean,
Meet the Parents was funny, but
Meet the Fockers not so much. I really don't think a third entry in this series is required.
At least he also has
Stone coming out this year, which looks promising. Still, there's something wrong with De Niro's recent output. Let's peek at his film choices since 1999. Here are his high profile projects of the past decade.
| YEAR | FILM | IMDB SCORE |
| 2000 | The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle | 4.1 |
| 2000 | Men of Honor | 6.8 |
| 2000 | Meet the Parents | 7.0 |
| 2001 | 15 Minutes | 6.1 |
| 2001 | The Score | 6.8 |
| 2002 | Showtime | 5.3 |
| 2002 | Analyze That | 5.6 |
| 2004 | Meet the Fockers | 6.4 |
| 2005 | Hide and Seek | 5.6 |
| 2007 | Stardust | 7.9 |
| 2008 | What Just Happened | 5.9 |
| AVERAGE SCORE: | 6.1 |
I would think at his age (67) he would be looking to solidify his legacy as a great actor by taking on some challenging roles, maybe chasing some oscars. Instead he's been chasing bad comedies and mediocre thrillers. Throw in a couple animated film voice characters and some things nobody saw like
Godsend, and
Everybody's Fine to round out the resume. This is not a slate of high quality films. Maybe I'm to believe elder gentlemen roles are so hard to come by in Hollywood that even one of our greatest living actors can't land a decent part? Somehow I don't buy that. Why couldn't he have been in
The Departed or
No Country For Old Men?
Compare the 00s to his defining films of the 70s, 80s, or 90s
| YEAR | FILM | IMDB SCORE |
| 1973 | Mean Streets | 7.5 |
| 1974 | Godfather II | 9.0 |
| 1976 | Taxi Driver | 8.6 |
| 1978 | The Deer hunter | 8.2 |
| AVERAGE SCORE: | 8.3 |
| YEAR | FILM | IMDB SCORE |
| 1980 | Raging Bull | 8.4 |
| 1982 | The King of Comedy | 7.6 |
| 1984 | Once Upon a Time in America | 8.4 |
| 1987 | The Untouchables | 8.0 |
| 1988 | Midnight Run | 7.5 |
| AVERAGE SCORE: | 8.0 |
| YEAR | FILM | IMDB SCORE |
| 1990 | Goodfellas | 8.8 |
| 1990 | Awakenings | 7.6 |
| 1991 | Cape Fear | 7.2 |
| 1995 | Casino | 8.1 |
| 1995 | Heat | 8.3 |
| 1997 | Wag the Dog | 7.0 |
| 1997 | Jackie Brown | 7.6 |
| 1998 | Ronin | 7.2 |
| AVERAGE SCORE: | 7.7 |
For 3 decades, this guy made movies averaging around 8 on a scale of 10. But in the last decade he's dropped to an average of 6. So ... what happened? 1999 is what happened. In 1999 he released
Analyze This. I understand taking this role. Much of the comedy comes from the fact we thought of him as a mobster, making him instantly credible, and it was cool to see him poke fun at his onscreeen persona. The movie wasn't great, but it was good enough. It opened at #1 and went on to make $106 million domestic and another $70 million foreign. That's more money than any of his movies had ever made. His highest grossing film before that was
Cape Fear at $79 million in 1991. Even if we look at inflation adjusted numbers,
Cape Fear doesn't quite crack $100 million in 1999 dollars. His best inflation adjusted films are
The Deer Hunter at $106 million and
The Godfather II with $130 million in 1999 dollars.
It sure looks like Robert De Niro sold out. Since 1999 it appears he's signed up for paydays instead of challenging roles. After
Analyze This showed he could star in a money-maker movie, studios increased his pay to be in lesser movies. And he's taken advantage of it. I don't begrudge him making money. That's a major goal of filmmaking, to make money. But in doing so he abandoned the strong character pieces he was beloved for. I'd just like to see another Louis Gara or Sam Rothstein, and no more Jack Byrnes.
