BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) WE’RE NO ANGELS
It’s hard to imagine it happening now, but in 1989 Robert De Niro teamed up with Sean Penn to make a comedy movie. It’s set in the 1930’s, so at least it’s a “period piece”. These two play convicts who end up on the loose. They hide out in a small town and are confused as a pair of priests that the church was expecting. Of course they break down their walls of meanness and start to care about the people in town. They still don’t want to get caught so hilarity ensues. It’s a shame this movie isn’t given airtime on basic cable. In the 90’s this would have been the exact kind of movie that TBS would have shown three times on a Sunday.
(THREE) THE FAN
I really like this movie. It’s not just because of their constant use of one of theNine Inch Nail’s “Closer” remixes. We have Wesley Snipes playing one of the most successful baseball players in the league. DiNiro plays a man who is struggling to build a relationship with his son and his job as a knife salesman is failing, but he still has his baseball. And with that he grows more and more obsessed with Snipes. It gets taken way too far and De Niro plays the role of an obsessed fan with so well that I’d put the intensity of the character up against ANY of his more loved works. Snipes is awesome, Tony Scott’s direction is edgy, there’s Nine Inch Nails playing through out, and Robert De Niro simply owns the screen. You can catch this one from time to time on tv and I suggest giving it a go if you have a chance. I think it’s worth it.
(TWO) SHOWTIME
In 2002 Robert De Niro teamed up with Eddie Murphy for a very underappreciated action-comedy. The two play cops put together for a reality police show. Reality TV has been around for a long time now, but this movie was a bit ahead of its time. The reality show wasn’t like “Cops” as you’d expect right off the bat. It had more staged drama and crafty story editing as most “reality” shows are these days. This movie got a lot of bad press. It was nominated for two “Razzie Awards” and is probably still trying to make its money back. I still enjoy it. It’s not shakesphere or anything, but for an afternoon movie on a rainy day you could go with a lot worse. The chemistry between De Niro and Murphy is a little weird, but it’s not without an odd and dry charm.
(ONE) WAG THE DOG
This 1997 Barry Levinson political black comedy starred “Bobby” and Dustin Hoffman. This movie is a dark and twisted satire that I’m sure many would agree isn’t too far off from being possible. The President is caught with a girl scout in a closed room a few weeks before re-election. In order to get the attention away from the scandal a man is hired to stage a distraction. What they do is fake a way with Albania. They go all out with giving the war a nifty name, a theme song, and even faked footage of an orphan child. Needless to say, it’s a fun movie. I know it gets a small amount of acclaim, but I think it’s even better than that. If you’ve not seen this movie, do so.
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