Since this is officially The Summer of RDJ, let’s get a little discussion going on the man and his movies. Everybody knows about his run-ins with the law, the times he spent in prison, his career being all but over after being given so many chances. Some of these younger folk that are now beginning to idolize him this summer don’t realize that Robert Downey Jr. has been prevalent in the business since the mid-80s (did you know he even spent a season on Saturday Night Live in 1985?). Decades from now, we’re going to see a biopic made of this man and all of his struggles, because really, he is one-of-a-kind.
So, without further ado, here’s my top ten.
10. Air America (1990)
Oh, come on. It’s a bad movie, I know – but it’s an edgier, funnier anti-Top Gun with far less sweaty beach volleyball and far more Mel Gibson. It’s a movie I grew up watching during the early-90s and as such, it’s a movie I’ll always be fond of.
9. Restoration (1995)
Here we have RDJ busting out his British accent (something we’ll get to see again here soon with Sherlock Holmes, I imagine), in a story of young physician Robert Merivel who finds himself ordered to marry his King’s mistress with the stipulation not to fall in love. Of course, he falls in love. A solid period piece with great costumes and sets and plenty of room for Downey Jr. to shine.
8. Less Than Zero (1987)
Based on a Bret Easton Ellis (American Pyscho) novel, this 1987 brat pack drama shows just how seriously good of an actor Downey Jr. really was, even barely over twenty years old. As the out-of-control drug addicted best friend, he may not have been playing a character too far from his actual self at the time. The cheesy, synthesized 80′s music, the in-your-face anti-drug message, the terrible sense of fashion all make for what should be typical 80s fair, but as is often the case, Downey is so damn enjoyable to watch when he’s on the screen, he brings the entirety of the movie up a notch.
7. Two Girls and a Guy (1997)
Probably one of my favorite comedies about relationships, in the opening minutes of the movie, we find two women waiting outside of their boyfriend’s apartment… which turns out to be the same man for each of them. The rest of the movie takes place inside the apartment as RDJ’s Blake Allen tries to smooth-talk his way out of trouble. It was unfairly slapped with an NC-17 rating and thus grossed just shy of $2 million at the box office – but luckily, this entire movie – which was shot in 11-days with some mega-improvisation – was made for only $1 million and still came out on top.
6. Iron Man (2008)
While his career was already in a resurgence, this single-handedly elevated him to superstar status and made him one of the hottest names in all of Hollywood – and deservedly so. The movie may follow the typical superhero origin story, but Downey’s Tony Stark – the anti-Bruce Wayne – is the single coolest and smoothest character in all of Marvel and DC movies and he’s just so much fun to watch here.
5. Wonder Boys (2000)
After all of his drug and jail problems, Downey Jr.’s career seemed pretty much over. Then he was given a chance to work with Curtis Hanson and a star-studded cast on this little dramedy where he showed he was as strong of an actor as ever as Michael Douglas’s gay editor Terry Crabtree. It seemed he might be able to revive his career yet, because it was obvious this man was one of the most talented in Hollywood. But then this same year, shortly after filming, he was jailed once again.
4. Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
After well over a decade of drug abuse, Downey Jr. woke up, sobered up, and was just hoping to get another shot from somebody – despite the fact that he had countless chances before. Perhaps he didn’t deserve it, but after a few years of not doing much (The Singing Detective, Gothika, Game 6), George Clooney casted him in a supporting role as Joe Wershba. While the glory went to Clooney and David Strathairn, RDJ did a hell of a job and I believe it was the faith that Clooney had in him that immediately began to open up a lot of doors and give studios a little more faith in the historically questionable actor (in the following couple of years before Iron Man, he’d do some of his best work in the likes of A Scanner Darkly, Fur, Charlie Bartlett, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, and Zodiac showing that he had matured both in his personal life and as an actor).
3. Chaplin (1992)
RDJ’s only Oscar nomination (so far) came from his portrayal of Charles Chaplin in this biopic. It focuses a little too heavily on the man’s romantic affairs and not enough on his genius (I’m still holding out hope for Attenborough’s 4-hour director’s cut), but for anyone that is an avid watcher of Charlie Chaplin, Downey Jr. is so similar to the man in his performance, it is almost eerie. Al Pacino was given his overdue Oscar that year for Scent of a Woman, but everybody knows it belonged to RDJ.
2. Zodiac (2007)
A movie overlooked by all the awards, but dearly loved by most others, it’s another David Fincher masterpiece. For me, the film was at its best when Downey was on screen as alcoholic, sarcastic journalist Paul Avery. I know it was a strong year for actors and all, but it still surprises me he didn’t get the Best Supporting Actor nomination for this last year (or hell, that the movie didn’t get any whatsoever!).
1. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
The more I watch this, the better this movie gets – and I’m probably up to a dozen or so viewings now, since every time I talk to someone who hasn’t watched it, I have to invite them over to do so. Much like the wonderful Brick, which came out around the same time, it takes a lot of the conventions and clichés of film noir and flips them on their head – all while maintaining a sense of cool and never falling into campy. Downey gives a perfect performances and like in most of his roles, it’s the delivery of his lines, the subtle facial expressions, the gestures that make his small-time thief turned Hollywood actor Harry Lockhart so memorable.
*Editor’s Note: I purposely left out Tropic Thunder until I can watch it a few more times.
For the record, I still need to watch the following: The Singing Detective and Short Cuts (both high on my list of must-sees), Heart & Souls, Soapdish, and Chances Are.
Funny, I watched Less than Zero again last weekend. It’s a bit darker than I remember the first time I saw it but it’s definitely not run-of-the-mill 80′s schlock.
Andrew McCarthy was actually really good in that one too as was James Spader who just reeks of asshole. For me, he steals the show.
MY RDJ 10:
10 Weird Science
9. Wonder Boys
8. True Believer
7. Two Girls and a Guy
6. Tropic Thunder
5. Natural Born Killers
4. The Singing Detective
3. A Scanner Darkly
2. Zodiac
1. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Wow, he’s got a lot of stinkers too:
The Shaggy Dog, Gothika, In Dreams, Home for the Holidays, Heart and Souls, Tuff Turf. That’s a lot of crappy celluloid.
I think Chaplin may be one of his best performances, but that movie as a hole has some big problems. It’s only good because of RDJ.
I suppose this could bring up a discussion on what makes movies enjoyable for each of us, but I’d rather not get into that. I have always been one who can fall in love with a movie simply because of one actor’s performance, such as the case with Chaplin (and many films I love). As I even stated above, Chaplin focuses way too much on the romances in his life and not his movies or his brilliance – something I’ll never understand why the studios wanted – which is why I’ve been waiting so eagerly for a director’s cut, which is supposedly 4-hours long and, I assume, will fill in all of those holes.
Criminal to leave Chaplin off of that list. My 5 favorites.
5. Heart and Souls – This could be my favorite HBO childhood movie viewing experience. RDJ AND Charles Grodin of Beethoven fame! How can you go wrong? You can’t. That’s how. In fact, I think this website needs a Charles Grodin top 10 list.
4. U.S. Marshals – Campy and fun watching Downey and Tommy Lee Jones.
3. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang – FANTASTIC movie. See it if you haven’t.
2. Iron Man – He helped reinvent what a super hero movie should be right before The Dark Knight reinvented what a super hero movie should be.
1. Chaplin – His performance in this movie could be one of the greatest biographical portrayals I’ve seen on screen.
His performance in this movie could be one of the greatest biographical portrayals I’ve seen on screen.”
A performer in Attenborough’s OTHER major biopic of the last 3 decades would like to have a word with you: Ben Kingsley in “Gandhi”
Love Charles Grodin (lots of love for Grodin on the upcoming cinecast. I don’t recall liking Hearts and Souls, despite its cast.
Downey Jr. is great in Chaplin. But the film is so maudlin and clumsy. I’d love to give this so-called 4 hour directors cut a try though.
Also, Eddie Izzard does a fine Chaplin in bogdanovich’s THE CAT’S MEOW.
As performances go, I’d say “Two Girls and a Guy” or “Chaplin.”
Movies as a whole, your top 5 about covers it.
Oh yeah, he’s pretty great in Natural Born Killers too.
If Heart & Souls used to play on HBO, then I must have seen it then, since I spent so much time watching HBO as a kid (could explain why I’m such a disturbed individual), but I have no memory of it. I’m going to have to check it out when I restart my Netflix – whenever that will be.
And honestly, I remember nothing about U.S. Marshalls, despite the fact that it was a spin-off of sorts of The Fugitive (I think). I can’t even remember RDJ being in it, although I see on the IMDb page that he is third billed.
Ranking by film quality:
3. Tropic Thunder
2. Zodiac
1. Chaplin
SHIT, I need to catch up on my Downey Jr.
I’ve spent the past few weeks creating my own RDJ film fest, and this is my top 10 list:
10) One Night Stand — a movie utterly unwatchable when Downey isn’t onscreen. In an excellent supporting role and sidestory to the main plot thread (Wesley Snipes cheating on Ming-Na with Nastassja Kinski), Downey plays a gay choreographer with end-stage AIDS determined to fight his disease to the end. The quiet earnestness of his plea to best friend Max (Wesley Snipes) to come visit him in the hospital between 5:30 and 5:45 AM because he fears dying before the sun comes up is utterly heartbreaking.
9) Less Than Zero — Bad 80′s hair, bad 80′s fashion, decent 80′s music, and one knock-em-dead performance from 22-year-old RDJ. RDJ has called this role “The Ghost of Christmas Future”, and he’s probably right: Julian Wells, the cokefiend whose only motivation in life is obtaining more drugs, willing to do practically anything to obtain them. This performance started Downey on a wild upward career path and made Hollywood producers and directors turn a blind eye to his increasing drug problems for over 8 years; it was that electrifying.
8 ) Soapdish — A cute “chick flick” movie that doesn’t deserve the bad reviews it got. Downey is in peak comic form here as producer David Seton Barnes, who is trying to accommodate the wishes of his girlfriend to be the show’s focal star, keep the show’s Susan Lucci-esque diva happy, deal with the press about soap-opera-like events unfolding within the real lives of his cast, and get the show’s ratings up to please the network bosses. His comic timing here is impeccable, and his expressions wouldn’t be out of place in a classic screwball comedy. If you haven’t seen it, add it to your RDJ collection.
7) Natural Born Killers — RDJ gives a great supporting performance in one of the most controversial movies of its time. As Australian tabloid TV reporter Wayne Gale, RDJ cracks open his impressions box and pulls out a darn good Aussie accent that never slips or breaks, and does a fantastic job building up the layers of Gale’s obsession with Mickey and Mallory and his hope that their increasing fame will carry him to higher heights in his own.
6) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang — An overlooked comedy that never devolves into camp. An older-but-wiser RDJ, at the beginning of a four-year grinding workload (16 movies from 2005 to 2008), plays thief Harry Lockhart, who stumbles upon a movie audition line while running from police; Lockhart impresses the producers, and he is cast as a private eye and brought to Hollywood, where a gay private eye is brought in to help Lockhart prepare for his role. Everything Downey does in this film — his innate sense of timing in delivering lines, his facial expressions, his gestures, and his ability to say unspoken but implied dialogue through just a glance at the camera — is pitch-perfect. It is a crime that this film was completely ignored by the major awards.
5) Chaplin — For most people, THE defining RDJ role. RDJ said in an interview that he’d only ever had to audition for two parts: Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin, and Tony Stark in Iron Man. Looking at the finished film, it’s a wonder he had to audition at all — he’s practically a carbon copy of the man, in both looks and physical mannerisms. (RDJ was once shown a pair of Chaplin’s shoes and asked if he could try one on, and was shocked to discover he and Chaplin had the same size feet.) The movie itself has its problems — like most people, I want the 4-hr. director’s cut NOW — but there’s nothing wrong with the portrayal of the title character. Chaplin got RDJ his first (and so far, only) Oscar nod, but he lost to Al Pacino (I distinctly remember shouting at the TV in a tirade unrepeatable in mixed company). If you ever want to know why Hollywood producers kept giving RDJ work even through the Hell years of 1996-2001, rent Chaplin; you’ll never ask the question again.
4) A Scanner Darkly — A criminally overlooked film that is perhaps the best treatment ever of a Philip Dick novel. RDJ plays James Barris, drug-addled technology expert who gradually emerges as a sociopathic monster attempting to set up a conspiracy involving housemate Bob Arctor (an undercover cop) and Donna Hawthorne (his drug dealer girlfriend). Even though the film is “animated”, it is done so by taking footage shot with the real actors, digitizing it, and running it through Rotoshop for interpolated rotoscoping; thus, the expressions on the actors’ faces, their movements, even the most subtle gestures are captured with surprising clarity. If you haven’t seen the film yet, rent it or buy it. I find I can’t resist it when it comes on HBO.
3) Iron Man — The superhero movie for grownups that transformed RDJ from “great actor, former druggie” to “superstar” in the average moviegoer’s minds. RDJ is picture-perfect (literally, he looks like he stepped off the comic book’s pages) as genius munitions inventor and ardent war hawk Tony Stark, who has a change of heart — almost literally — when one of his own rocket-powered grenade explodes beside him during a roadside shootout in Afghanistan where he is taken hostage. To escape from his cave prison, Stark agrees to build the bad guys a missile but instead builds himself a better generator to power the electromagnet that keeps his heart beating and a suit of power armor to allow him to pass through the wall of guards and their Stark Industries weapons. RDJ plays Tony Stark’s transformation — from bored playboy at the beginning of the film to re-energized inventor obsessed with perfecting his power armor to outraged businessman infuriated that his own second-in-command has been selling Stark technology to terrorist groups around the world to fledgling superhero beginning to realize that there is a world beyond his own circle that needs someone to take up their cause — with style and panache, and even manages to use that great sense of comic timing he possesses when needed. I adore this movie, and the only reason it doesn’t make my number one is that two more performances somehow manage to top it.
2) Tropic Thunder — A brilliant farcical movie-within-a-movie that takes on the movie industry and the many targets within it. RDJ plays 5-time Oscar winner Kirk Lazarus, an Australian method actor who takes his need to bury himself in his characters so seriously that he has a skin pigmentation procedure performed to transform himself into a dark-skinned black man in order to play the character of Sgt. Lincoln Osiris, the black platoon sergeant in the movie Tropic Thunder. To force his cast of overpaid and overpampered actors to actually have to work, director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) drops them all off in the jungles of Vietnam with only a map and a list of scenes to be shot; hidden cameras all around will capture their acting to finally create the “greatest war movie ever”. But when Cockburn is killed by a mine and the actors discover they have been going the wrong way through the jungle because of star Tugg Speedman’s (Ben Stiller) poor mapreading skills, Lazarus never drops character, buried so deep into the character that he cannot let go of it, even when all the characters reach the reality that they are no longer making a movie. RDJ, who told CBS’s Harry Smith that the inspiration for Kirk Lazarus came from “sadly, my sorry-ass self,” carries the last half of the movie on his shoulders, and his comic timing and ad-lib ability make what could have been an insulting slap at African-Americans a very funny indictment on insufferable method actors who insist on staying in character on the set at all times. This performance is definitely Oscar-worthy, and if it weren’t for the fact that the Best Supporting Actor Oscar already has Heath Ledger’s name engraved on it, RDJ would be a hard candidate to beat.
1) Wonder Boys — Take 3 past Oscar nominees (Michael Douglas, Frances McDormand, Robert Downey Jr.). Add 2 young up-and-comers (Tobey Maguire, Katie Holmes). Stir in one quirky director (Curtis Hansen) and one writer best known for taking on Harry Potter (Steve Kloves, who wrote the screenplay based on Michael Chabon’s novel). Whistle a merry tune during prep (“Things Have Changed”, performed by Bob Dylan). Bake until well done and serve while hot (February 2000), then reheat and serve again at Thanksgiving (November 2000) to remind the critics how good it was. Watch a very deserving film get no acting Oscar nods, no directing Oscar nods, and only three nominations total (Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Song), with only one win (“Things Have Changed”). Grumble loudly at the fact that a fantastically nuanced performance by RDJ (as gay literary agent Terry Crabtree, struggling to hold his career together because his star client Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas) hasn’t released a new novel in seven years) gets ignored completely by the Academy. Get a huge laugh out of the fact that (according to RDJ) eight years later, a scene in Wonder Boys where Crabtree has a one-night stand with the maybe-sexual James Leer (Tobey Maguire) gets a hugely funny payoff in one of the mock trailers for Tropic Thunder (Satan’s Alley, where the Irish monk played by Kirk Lazarus is seduced during prayers by another monk played by Tobey Maguire). Most of all, sit back and enjoy a group of really great actors delivering terrific performances in a sweetly funny comedy about writers and writing, giving up and moving on vs. standing your ground and trying to make that ground better, growing up vs. growing old, and love and its many beautiful, wonderful forms. In 2000, RDJ had not yet hit rock bottom in his drug addiction issues, but the film serves as a reminder of what a tremendous actor he was and still is.
Great list and write-ups, Kimberly!
I am still holding out hope for that Chaplin director’s cut. Every once in a while I’ll google “Richard Attenborough” and “Chaplin” just to see if anything new pops up. The man isn’t getting any younger, so I hope he gets on it!
No A Scanner Darkly? Lame.
1: Zodiac
2: Wonder Boys
3: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
4: Short Cuts
5: Chaplin
6: A Scanner Darkly (even with Keanu)
7: Good Night, and Good Luck.
8: Iron Man
9: Tropic Thunder
10: True Believer
You don’t like Keanu!!????!!!!?!?!?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t like RDJ’s performance in Iron Man for some reason.
“You don’t like Keanu!!????!!!!?!?!?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Are my eyes deceiving me or do I see some support for Keanu in the wings?
Could it be?!?!?!
Here’s my list… of reasons Keanu is awesome!
10. speed
9. bill and ted
8. matrix
7. whoa!!!!!
6. point break
5. thumbsucker (the movie is piss. he’s funny)
4. speed 2 (he wasn’t in it)
3. devils advocate
2. scanner darkly
1. The rocking sounds of Dogstar!!!!! Not really.
1. river’s edge
Good lord Kimberly, that is quite the RDJ tribute you penned! Salute!
But how can you say A Scanner Darkly is “maybe” the best PKD adaption? It’s the only one that even attempts to adapt his work. The others (I love Blade Runner and Total Recall and Minority Report) just take a general premise and spin it into a conventional action film.
Looks like I won’t be needing that tub of ice cream after all. Rusty has proven that there is hope for me yet!
*** SPOILER ALERT FOR TROPIC THUNDER ***
One of the coolest moments in Tropic Thunder comes when Lazarus, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, collapses to the floor in the heroin processing plant and begins removing the prostheses that turn him into Sgt. Lincoln Osiris. “I am NOT Sgt. Lincoln Osiris,” he says in Osiris’ voice while removing his wig, revealing a head of vibrant blond hair. “Nor am I Father O’Malley,” he says in the Irish accent he sports in the trailer for Satan’s Alley, pulling off the 60s sideburns as he speaks. “Nor am I Neil Armstrong,’ he says in RDJ’s voice, pulling off the beard and mustache. He rubs his eyes, pinches the bridge of his nose, pulls off the fake nose, then opens his eyes to reveal they are sapphire blue (instead of RDJ’s real-life coffee-colored eyes), this time admitting the truth in Kirk Lazarus’ Aussie accent: “I don’t know WHO I am.” It’s a great moment of pathos blended with a mindfreak moment of RDJ, the method actor, immersing himself into the role of Kirk Lazarus so deeply that he changes three things that make him instantly recognizable: His hair, eyes, and voice. Hilarious and awesome all at once.
@ “Looks like I won’t be needing that tub of ice cream after all. Rusty has proven that there is hope for me yet!”
I’m afraid I don’t understand Marina.
Sorry, that conversation started here with murph saying he was divorcing me.
Got it. But I still can’t tell if you’re commiserating with me for my Keanu love or ridiculing me for it.
And I don’t really understand what ice cream has to do with anything.
Are you and this murphy fellow really married or is that an injoke?
For all I know murph’s a woman. I just ran with the comment.
When people are depressed, they eat ice cream from buckets. Am I wrong? I don’t get depressed. LOL
And I’m definitely commiserating with you on Keanu. I’ve had a celebrity crush on him since I was a teen. They told me I’d grow out of it…I never did.
which is your favorite of his films?
I figured you guys must’ve been joking. Because aparently Murphy is American (based on recent comments) so obviously you guys could never bond over stuff like pretending Guy Maddin is a great film maker as opposed to just the second best Canadian film maker.
My Keanu love fest top 10 fave list:
1. Matrix
2. Devil’s Advocate
3. A Scanner Darkly
4. My Own Private Idaho
5. River’s Edge
6. Dangerous Liaisons
7. Speed
8. Constantine
9. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
10. Johnny Mnemonic / Dracula (it’s a tossup)
Ugh, please don’t taint the Robert Downey Jr. Rank ‘Em with a Keanu Reeves Rank ‘Em!
Bill and Ted’s is one of the most UNDER-rated films of all time.
Oi. It’s Arthur Conan Doyle by way of Baz Lurhman. I remain skeptical.
It’s also RDJ. I remain optimistic. **Insert Iron Man quip here**
If Baz was actually involved, I’d be first in line. As is? Not so interested.
Oh, I thought it actually was Baz. Where did the Baz reference come from?
Anyway, it is Guy Ritchie. Despite Revolver debacle (haven’t seen RockNRolla yet), I still give him the benefit of the doubt…. for now.
yes. like the look. reinventing the character is okay
I had no idea Sherlock Holmes would be an animated film.
How is Parenthood not on anyone’s top Keaunu list?
“I told him that’s what little dudes do.”
Oh dear god. “Parenthood”? That’s like saying that his small role in “Flying” is worthy of making the list. AHHH!
Kurt, you LIKED the Singing Detective movie? I just sat through part of it yesterday and had to turn it off, it was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. It has no pacing, RDJ is over the top in a very bad way, the direction is awful and sub-TV, and it goes way too long without even a hint of actual storytelling. They focus on RDJ’s burnt face in such a repetitive boring way that you’re just sick of him. Ridiculous shitty, shitty, SHITTY, dialogue. The music numbers play worse than your average junior high air band.
Avoid at all costs, the worst thing I’ve seen RDJ in, easily, as its just amateurish, even from his performance.
This movie aspires to be like Shock Treatment, and that’s terrible.
Singing Detective was indeed pretty bad/boring. I don’t think I got all the way through it actually.
I’m a huge fan of the Dennis Potter miniseries (Michael Gambon was the star), and I did like the way they attempted to boil it down to 2hours with the movie. Yea, I liked it. Never found it boring, and was more than entertained, even if the movie doesn’t hold a candle to the original mini (Which you may find is 10x boring. Or not.)
As burn victim flash-back movies go, I’ll most definitely take RDJ’s singing detective over The English Patient!
“I’m a huge fan of the Dennis Potter miniseries (Michael Gambon was the star), and I did like the way they attempted to boil it down to 2hours with the movie.”
This excuse would never work for you with……
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
wait for it…
Iron Man.
I fail to see your point here Goon. One was a massive miniseries, the other was a feature film. They shared style points and the over-arching plot, but went about themselves in radically different ways.
The Potter Miniseries can wipe the floor with the film, but the film was hardly ‘unwatchable.’
My main issue with Ironman was that it was the most paint-by-numbers comic book made up to this point which squandered its mighty fine lead actor into a ho-hum plot, action sequence, and totally sidesteps the use of Iraq other than as ‘cliche villains’ – instead he fights a version of himself ran by his business partner. Yawn.
“I fail to see your point here Goon. One was a massive miniseries, the other was a feature film. They shared style points and the over-arching plot, but went about themselves in radically different ways.”
My point was that you did not care about comic fanboys finally seeing their beloved source material finally edited and reworked into a film, and even used the fact that it didnt happen earlier to call it a Robocop ripoff… you’re giving a ‘i finally got to see x’ copout to one thing but disallowing it to another.
I mean I love the Hitchhikers Guide movie, but it wouldnt be enough to give a similar excuse.