Since I know we love all things Downey, fyi, there's a debate raging at The Movie Blog. I don't know how I'd ever rank those, but since I've always thought he was robbed of the 1992 Best Actor Oscar (a position on which few used to agree with me) I guess I'd be inclined to say he was "best" in Chaplin. But if you wanted to make a case for him in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Tropic Thunder, Natural Born Killers, or Zodiac, I wouldn't disagree. Heck I loved him in Two Girls and a Guy - Soapdish, even - so as this is a case of separating the perfect from the very good I can't get too invested in a ranking.
Posted by armand at September 17, 2008 10:26 AM | TrackBack | Posted to MoviesAll.
More, please.
Seriously, though, I have not seen six of those movies. And I have a fondness for some of his geeky earlier roles (Derek in Back to School, Weird Science), Wonder Boys although I think that is more about the story than his performance per se. I really thought he was terrific in Zodiac, that he was "back." And looking back on that film, I see the arc to the present. I really, really hope that all continues to go well with him personally so that we may get much much more of him professionally.
Posted by: binky at September 17, 2008 08:28 PM | PERMALINKWhat about True Believer and Less than Zero; he makes the transition between crack whore and idealistic lawyer appear all too plausible, even if he is just a poor man's Philip Seymour Hoffman. For some reason I get younger Robert Downey Jr. confused with younger John Cryer, I could so have seen him as the slow clapping duck man in pretty in pink.
Posted by: Morris at September 19, 2008 11:08 AM | PERMALINKMorris, I have also had to remind myself that he did not play Duckie. Perhaps he should have. Less than zero is another one of my early faves.
Posted by: binky at September 19, 2008 05:21 PM | PERMALINKWell he was certainly the best thing in Less Than Zero (no offense, Ms. Gertz). But personally, I think he became better over time.
And putting PSH in the same sentence as Downey should be some sort of heresy. While Downey's improved with age, Hoffman's become a ham I find hard to endure (though, sure, he was good in Happiness and Boogie Nights - but that was a long time ago).
Posted by: Armand at September 19, 2008 08:32 PM | PERMALINKRDjr and now Rachael McAdams, who, by the by, is apparently back with her total cutie ex being cuties together.
Posted by: binky at September 25, 2008 09:50 PM | PERMALINKDowney + Law + McAdams = yay! But throw Guy Ritchie into the mix and I'm concerned.
And awwww, Gosling.
Posted by: Armand at September 25, 2008 11:07 PM | PERMALINK