Robert De Niro is 66 years old -- which in Hollywood is the new 40. However, being five years away from the age at which his father died seems to be having an effect on some of his professional choices. We all know about the formative, career-defining roles De Niro played in the '70s (The Deer Hunter, The Godfather Part II), his search for a wider range in the '80s (Raging Bull, The King of Comedy) and his spectacular series of hits in the '90s (Goodfellas, Heat, Ronin), but what about the naughts in this decade? There’s no arguing about how important of a role De Niro has already played in film history, but, as Miss Jackson put it (yes, I’m nasty), what has he done for us lately?
For my money, the decade wasn’t off to a great start, as I never would have spent my money on 2000’s first De Niro pic, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. Why would an actor of his caliber even consider appearing in such a thing, much less use it to satirize one of his most recognized characters (Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle)? Trust me, if you don’t know, you don’t want to. Hardly an auspicious start to a decade that would prove to be the least memorable in his career.
De Niro’s biggest success recently was his role as the curmudgeonly Jack Byrnes in Meet the Parents, its sequel Meet the Fockers and (God help us all) the upcoming third film Little Fockers. If there was a high point in them it was not Ben Stiller’s here-we-go-again stumbling buffoon, but De Niro’s CIA retiree, gruff father-in-law. It’s easy to see how the part would have resonated with De Niro, starting to accept that he was getting too old for the tough-guy roles of the past. In this context, the Fockers series felt like a submission.
Action team-ups with Edward Norton and Marlon Brando (The Score), or Ed Burns (15 Minutes), didn’t play well, and attempts at comedy were a mixed bag. The razzie-nominated Showtime with a fading Eddie Murphy was a miss, while the overhyped Analyze This and its sequel with Billy Crystal deconstructed De Niro’s familiar mob guy and scored a hit with audiences, but it seemed a lot like a farewell to that part of his career.
Not a lot worth mentioning happened in the latter half of the decade with De Niro’s career. His direction of the film The Good Shepherd, about the birth of the CIA with Matt Damon, was met with lukewarm response and, his second ever collaboration with Al Pacino, in Righteous Kill, is better left forgotten. The De Niro of the naughts seemed to get hits when he played tired and sad versions of his characters we’ve seen before, but not with much else.
Which brings us to what might be the best film he’s made in 10 years, Everybody’s Fine (read our review here). De Niro finds a new niche for himself in the quiet, affable but somewhat doddering old dad who wants to reconnect with his estranged children after the death of his wife. It’s a touching and easily identifiable portrayal not only from within the context of the film but to any longtime fan of the actor. What does it say about him that he was attracted to a role so twilight (no, not the dumb vampire series) in nature? The roles he’s chosen have seemed to reflect a guy who has said goodbye to some things best left to younger men, and who has decided to examine the person he actually is now.
Or has he? He apparently gets to sleep with Milla Jovovich in the upcoming Stone and will be a mobster again in Frankie Machine, possibly to be directed by one Martin Scorsese. And you know those rumors about a Taxi Driver 2 (no, really) still circulate every couple years, ever since De Niro and Scorsese announced interest in 2005. I think it’s clear that it isn't time to reserve a spot at the nursing home just yet. To paraphrase the man himself, he’ll have time to rest when he’s dead -- which doesn’t look like it’ll be any time soon.