Written by: Jimmy Hitt, CC2K Staff Writer

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Excellent Supporting Roles

Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)

I call this a supporting role because, while the action surrounds De Niro’s character, the dim-witted catcher on a pro ball team with a terminal illness to boot—it’s the rest of the players who do most of the acting.  De Niro is essentially the pink elephant in the room in a lot of scenes, which he does well enough, but this is more of a precursor to the De Niro we know and love.  It’s like when you see Vince Vaughn in Jurassic Park (2?)…he hasn’t yet become Vince Vaugn and it’s a little strange.  The movie is pretty cool though, and it’s one of the more accurate sports films.  My dad used to love this one when I was a kid and I still have a copy of it somewhere…

Key scene: during spring training, De Niro tells the star pitcher—his best friend—that he is dying.

Frankenstein (1994)

Kind of a strange turn here, don’tcha think?  De Niro as the Monster.  Finally he had a chance to use everything he learned in Awakenings and apply it to a more dynamic character, yet I could still tell it was De Niro underneath pounds of makeup.  I can’t imagine anyone giving the role more pathos, however, and I’m glad they didn’t cast some 7 footer and play into the standard Frankenstein bs.  A brave part in a brave film based on a brave book, to be sure.

Key scene: De Niro peeks through a shack and learns to read and write by watching young children in a peasant home.  Not sure it would work, but it’s a great bit of acting without words.

Cop Land (1997)

This is one of the rare instances where De Niro actually plays a unique version of a cop.  He basically did the same thing in Backdraft, but that was an arson investigator, soooo…that’s like different, and stuff.  He’s pretty brutal to Sly in this too, which sounds convincing coming out of a mustache.

Key scene: Sly decides to finally assist Internal Affairs but De Niro says, “I gave you the change, and you blew it!”  Great stuff in an otherwise cut and paste film.

Meet the Parents (2000)

This is probably the best role De Niro has had in years, tormenting Gaylord Focker as the impossibly psycho father Jack.  In one of his only roles where frat dudes and middle aged women alike could find humor, De Niro is given free reign to torment and harass Focker in increasingly bizarre fashion.  If you haven’t seen this, I’m not going to rehash the plot for you, so just know that you are missing out and you should be ashamed.

Key scene: With Focker sitting uncomfortably on a dressing room bench, Jack, wearing a top hat, destroys him psychologically and kicks him out of the circle of trust.

Solid Starring Roles

The Last Tycoon (1976)

There are some memorable times in this film, but F. Scott Fitzgerald gives me a terrible case of narcolepsy.  De Niro looks the part and does a great job emoting the whole time as the rich and powerful Monroe Stahr, but much like all of Fitzgerald’s protagonists, one can never truly empathize with this guy.  He’s rich as hell…why’s he so sad?  It’s just like Jay Gatsby, actually.  There’s something about the American Dream here, and some other themes dealing with loss and disaffected yearnings, but so what?  I’ll take the Cliffs Notes.

True Confessions (1981)

Trying to cram about 12 storylines into a one storyline film earns this one the tag of The French Connection meets…uhh…something with lots of feelings.  De Niro plays a priest for the umpteenth time, while Robert Duvall earns his paycheck as his tough, homicide detective brother.  Chance intervenes and they meet up after years of estrangement, but other than the fine acting, there’s nothing tying anything together here other than the fact that every character and actor—and all the action—are somehow connected to the root of the estrangement.  Kind of boring stuff.

Angel Heart (1987)

Visually stunning for its time, Angel Heart nevertheless suffers from what-the-fuck syndrome, AKA Constantine-itis.  I’ve seen it twice in the last ten years and I must say I don’t really understand what the hell it’s about, except that there’s a lot of stuff about the occult and God and what not mixed in with a mystery having something to do with Mickey Rourke sneering all the time.  Avoid if possible, unless you have a craving for some wonderful De Niro in an otherwise shitty movie.

Jacknife (1989)

This is one of those forgotten Vietnam movies where everyone is sulking and sad about their last battle and their lost friends.  De Niro hides behind a fake beard and a Red Sox hat as he tries to keep his sis from dating his friend, and thereby bringing his past back around.  It’s on TMC sometimes at about 2am.  Am I the only one up at that hour?

Stanley & Iris (1990)

Another gear-shifting role, as De Niro plays an uneducated cook trying to win some love and some self-respect.  It’s very sad, actually, and a fine performance, but the movie itself never really did much for me.  I have to admit I don’t remember many of the major moments, other than the bike riding scene and one of the revelation scenes.

Ronin (1998)

This is a car chase fan’s wet dream, but De Niro is acutely aware of his character, as well, as literally a ronin chasing down scores in France.  It gets a little long and convoluted towards the end, but much like his role in Heat, here we see De Niro at work in a solid and enjoyable crime caper.

Key scene: the weapon assembly/getting to know the gang scene.

The Score (2001)

Am I the only one who liked this film?  Ed Norton is the main attraction here, but De Niro is great as the main thief trying to make one last score.  It’s mostly a lot of sulking and staring, but Frank Oz directed it, man!  Yoda, dude!  Plus, the ending is pretty sweet and a tad unexpected.

Key scene: the ending.  Or anything with Brando and De Niro.

Solid Supporting Roles

Brazil (1985)

De Niro plays the strangest guerilla cable man/plumber ever in possibly the strangest film ever…but he does it to a T, as usual.  I can’t say I love this film, but I definitely respect what it’s trying to accomplish.  Likewise goes for De Niro’s Harry Tuttle.  Strange, strange role in a stranger film.

Key scene: as De Niro holds a gun behind our titular hero’s head—for the sole purpose of illegally fixing his plumbing—our hero nervously negotiates with government agents/contractors…it’s hard to explain, much like Brazil.

The Mission (1986)

Jeremy Irons takes the most dynamic acting scenes in this film, but De Niro is definitely adept at providing a solid, conscientious supporting character.  Each play a priest attempting to keep their mission’s charges from falling into the hands of slave traders.  It’s kind of like Medicine Man meets Amistad, and it’s also kinda boring, but the acting is great.

Key scene: After much sulking, De Niro finally raises his voice and his own opinion in a confrontation with Iron’s character.

Backdraft (1991)

Playing an arson investigator, De Niro and Kurt Russell are probably the best thing going for this fire-drenched film.  He expertly grounds Billy Baldwin’s idiotic probationary fireman, while also providing a door into the arson underground.  He’s not as tough, either, judging from the hideous scarring on his back and his past exploits with Donald Sutherland, who calls him “Shadow”—a reference to the shadow his body left on the wall behind it when Sutherland almost burned himself and De Niro alive.

Key scene: And the Oscar for Best Actor With a Pole Sticking Through His Stomach goes to: Robert De Niro.  

A Bronx Tale (1993)

Chazz Palminteri stole the show, but this is a wonderful little flick reminiscent of many of De Niro’s other work, except this time he’s the director.  His son falls in with the mobster crowd, and it’s up to De Niro to set him straight.  Finally, here’s some morality in a gangster flick.  I feel like the performances are a tad reserved at times and of course fairly cliché, but overall I can’t fault this film necessarily.  It just falls into the sort of melodrama that Scorsese would have never allowed.

Key scene: The Biker Gang vs. Mobsters scene.

Jackie Brown (1997)

Ex-con De Niro gets work as Sam Jackson’s latest thug, but before he can start working he gets to babysit Sam’s girlfriend played by Bridget Fonda.  He smokes pot with her out of Hollywood bongs, bangs her in the kitchen, and then kills her in a parking lot in broad daylight.  He was perhaps the only thing worth watching in this whole film.  Alas, his screen time is short, but sweet.

Key scene: De Niro gets more and more upset as he and Fonda are leaving the department store.

Flawless (1999)

The real show here is Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a cross-dressing, flamboyant neighbor who teaches De Niro’s stroke victim character how to speak again, but also how to accept others for who they are.  It’s kind of a drag watching De Niro grimace the whole time, but overall the performances are excellent and worth checking out.  This is one of the least-seen movies of the last ten years, hands down, so if you like feeling indie or what have you, check it out.

Key scene: De Niro grimaces but we all understand that he understands…gay isn’t so bad.

Meet the Fockers (2004)

He’s essentially playing himself in this one, or at least a caricature of himself, but it’s a fun sequel and not nearly as bad as a lot of people said.  It’s nice to not have to feel so uncomfortable the whole time either.  Personally, I enjoyed Meet the Fockers for what it is: a funny movie with De Niro playing the straight man alongside Dustin Hoffman’s liberal whacko.

Key scene: De Niro as he drives down to Florida in his giant Winnebago.  He won’t let Focker do much of anything…it’s pretty funny…come on!

Forgettable Starring Roles

Midnight Run (1988)

Not to be confused with Midnight Express, this Charles Grodin buddy/annoyance flick ranks up there with The Ref and numerous other Stockholm Syndrome flicks.  But that’s not a good thing.  I didn’t laugh when it came out, and I didn’t laugh when it was on TV a few months ago.  Not funny, not worth watching.

We’re No Angels (1989)

Sometimes David Mamet makes films that don’t jive with his heavier shit.  In this role, De Niro plays opposite Sean Penn as an escaped con hiding in the priesthood.  What a concept!  Hilarity ensues.

Night and the City (1992)

This isn’t a bad film, per se, nor is it a bad role for De Niro, but it’s just so boring and cliché that I can’t endorse it, especially when there’s so many other De Niro films worth watching first.  De Niro plays a crooked lawyer who takes a detour into boxing promotion.  Seriously, if you’re imagining the plot and how it plays out, you’ve seen the film.  Good acting, nothing to write home about, and that’s pretty much it.  

Mad Dog and Glory (1993)

Romantic comedies and Robert De Niro are like Jews and Palestinians.  Sure, Uma is hot, but that will only get you so far.  Next to Bobby, she might as well be fully clothed because he’s possibly the least sexy actor in history.

The Fan (1996)

Wesley Snipes play baseball.  De Niro like baseball and stalk Wesley.  Insert baseball metaphors and clichés galore.  And scene.  My dad and I tried to watch this when I was in 8th grade and ended up turning it off after about 45 minutes.

Analyze This (1999)

This was the beginning of the end.  When an actor begins to parody themselves, it can only go downhill from there.  Funny movie, at times, but overall a lot of mobster bullshit and pillow shooting.  Very, very cliché and formulaic.

Men of Honor (2000)

This is a by-the-numbers uplifting racism is bad movie starring De Niro and Cuba Gooding Jr., AKA I’m not Hootie!  It’s about diving school and holding your breath and equality and all that jazz.  Cuba gives an inspired performance as usual, but the story and the characterization are pretty shitty.  I want to put De Niro’s role here in the Solid category, but the film is anything but solid and I wouldn’t feel comfortable endorsing such tripe to the massive amount of fans reading this article.

Analyze That (2002)

$20,000,000 to star in this stinker.  Jesus.  Although it was funnier than the original, neither film should have been made.  Billy Crystal is the least funny man alive, and a serious cause of much of the world’s anti-Semitism.  

Hide and Seek (2005)

Dakota Fanning and Robert De Niro…match made in heaven?  Think again.  I had the ending pegged before I walked in the theater.  And God how I hate that little girl.  De Niro needs to quit making mainstream shit and focus on his talents, like shooting pimps and fighting Vietcong.

Forgettable Supporting Roles

Sleepers (1996)

I have to be honest.  This movie gives me the creeps and I don’t ever want to see it again or think about it.  De Niro’s ubiquitous addition to the cast just reinforces my theory that adding 50 major actors to a shitty movie does not help things at all.  Kind of like the Yankees, Sleepers would benefit from less stars and more young pitching…or something.  The whole thing was just so unnecessary, and after learning that its “based on a true story” tag was bullshit, I have less respect for it that I did before.

Marvin’s Room (1996)

This one is kind of like What’s Eating Gilbert Grape meets The Cider House Rules, but once again De Niro is underused and even when he is on screen he’s basically playing Dr. Robert De Niro.  A forgettable film and an even more forgettable role—for shame!  Why Bobby D, why?

Great Expectations (1998)

Good movie, bad casting.  De Niro had no business playing Fin’s mysterious benefactor.  It’s like casting Sean Connery as Richard the Lionheart in Robin Hood.  Unnecessary and a little bit of an insult.  Now, if I had cast De Niro as anyone in this, it would have been made in 1973 and he would have been the lead.  That would have been a great film.  Gwyneth Paltrow is at her hottest in this one, though, if that means anything.

15 Minutes (2001)

OK, De Niro’s character gets killed about 15 minutes into this shitfest, but he was playing the only role he seems to ever get offered anymore, aside from mobster: tough cop.  Meanwhile, after killing off the only thing this film had going for it, Edward Burns then becomes the main character, and you know how this site feels about that guy.  At least Oleg Taktarov had some cool lines.

Godsend (2004)

This is one of those topical films that come out every year, like Paparazzi or World Trade Center.  We all know what will happen and we all could care less.  De Niro is predictably miscast and underused in this one as the mysterious doctor, although Rebecca Romijn is friggin haaawwt.  I do not recommend seeing it, unless Greg Kinnear floats your boat as he does mine.  

Movies I Haven’t Seen, Many of Which Are For Completists Only

Jennifer On My Mind (1971)
Born To Win (1971)
The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight (1971)
1900 (1976)
Falling in Love (1984)
Guilty By Suspicion (1991)
Mistress (1992)
A Thousand and One Nights (1995)
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000)
The Bridge of San Luis Ray (2005)