I've recently been wondering if I shouldn't give this movie another look. It was SO offensive ten years ago, I can't begin to imagine how it would play today (also: Tom Cruise getting latexed up to look like an obese, pushy Jewish movie producer? Yikes). But I well recall being reduced to absolute stitches while Stiller struggles to cry in front of an over-emoting Downey.
I don't know if you saw this interview clip, in which Robert Downey Jr. talks about how the movie would play today. https://youtu.be/9ugC3TXSKoE But it definitely had its moments, didn't it?
Interesting interview, and not a little cringey. "Heart in the right place" is the flaky sort of thing you expect Hollywood royalty to say, but I thought Downey was sharper than that. Stiller would be interesting to hear on the matter, because he IS sharper than that. I mean, you could at least argue that Downey wasn't playing in blackface, he was playing an actor self-deluded enough to commit to blackface.
I'm a bit more sympathetic because I feel like if I was in a live interview like that, I'd probably end up saying something stupid and inarticulate, and only 3 days later realize what I should have said. That being said, I agree that it would probably be more interesting to listen to Ben Stiller.
I've recently been wondering if I shouldn't give this movie another look. It was SO offensive ten years ago, I can't begin to imagine how it would play today (also: Tom Cruise getting latexed up to look like an obese, pushy Jewish movie producer? Yikes). But I well recall being reduced to absolute stitches while Stiller struggles to cry in front of an over-emoting Downey.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you saw this interview clip, in which Robert Downey Jr. talks about how the movie would play today. https://youtu.be/9ugC3TXSKoE But it definitely had its moments, didn't it?
ReplyDeleteInteresting interview, and not a little cringey. "Heart in the right place" is the flaky sort of thing you expect Hollywood royalty to say, but I thought Downey was sharper than that. Stiller would be interesting to hear on the matter, because he IS sharper than that. I mean, you could at least argue that Downey wasn't playing in blackface, he was playing an actor self-deluded enough to commit to blackface.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit more sympathetic because I feel like if I was in a live interview like that, I'd probably end up saying something stupid and inarticulate, and only 3 days later realize what I should have said.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I agree that it would probably be more interesting to listen to Ben Stiller.