74 | DECEMBER 15 • 2022
THE DOWNEY FAMILY,
ASNER IS STILL IN NEW
STUFF, THE WHALE
Sr., is a “now-streaming”
original Netflix documentary
about avant-garde director/
writer Robert Downey
Sr. It was co-directed by
Downey Sr. (1936-2021)
and his son, famous actor
Robert Downey Jr., 57. This
isn’t a “by the numbers”
biography. It is a very
moving portrait of father
and son as they make
parallel “home movie”
biographies of Robert Sr.
The two films have been
merged together in the film
we see.
I felt (in a good way) the
documentary was a great
excuse for father and son to
spend a lot of time together,
knowing that Robert Sr. was
suffering from Parkinson’s
and his time was short.
Most people aren’t
familiar with Robert Sr.’s
films. You learn a lot about
them in the documentary.
Long ago, I saw Sr.’s best-
known films: Putney Swope
(1969) and Greaser’s
Palace (1972). The former
pioneered funny “fake ads”
that satirized the Madison
Avenue variety. A few years
later, such fake funny ads
became an SNL staple.
Greaser’s Palace was a
wild, sort-of Western that
starred the late Allan Arbus
as a kind-of-Christ figure.
It’s worth viewing. (Robert
Jr. had brief roles in both
films and clips of him, as
a child actor, are in the
documentary).
The Netflix film
addresses Robert Sr.’s long-
term cocaine addiction
and it alludes to Robert
Jr.’s horrendous battle with
the same addiction. Robert
Sr. candidly says what a
mistake drugs were and
how much he regrets that
his behavior influenced his
son. But there is so much
love between this father-
and-son that “blame for
addiction” isn’t an issue that
divides them.
The big take-away from
the film is the tender love
among Downey family
members. Robert Sr.
clearly loves and enjoys
his wife, his son and his
grandchildren (Robert Jr.’s
charming young children).
Robert Jr.’s wife, talent
agent Susan Levin
Downey, 49, is seen now
and again. Robert Jr. has
said that she was critical
to his recovery. They wed
in a Jewish ceremony
and Downey Jr. now calls
himself “Jewish-Buddhist.”
I strongly suspect their
children are being raised
Jewish.
Robert Sr. was born
Robert Ellis. His father
was “all Jewish” and his
maternal grandmother was
Jewish. Robert Jr. is “3/8”
Jewish. In the film, Downey
Sr. explains why he took
the “non-Jewish” last name
Downey.
Frankly, Robert Sr. comes
off as a funny old Jewish
guy. Appropriately, Alan
Arkin, 88, and Norman
Lear, 100, two funny
old Jews, are briefly
interviewed about Downey
Sr.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid:
Rodrick Rules, an animated
film, began streaming on
Dec. 2 (Disney+). Like all
the Wimpy Kids movies, it
is based on a bestselling
series of novels for young
readers.
Here’s the Wimpy movie
story: four “live action”
Wimpy Kids movies were
released from 2010-2017,
including a film (2012)
with the same title as the
new film and pretty much
the same plot. In 2021,
Disney released a “reboot”
animated film version of the
first live action film (Diary of
a Wimpy Kid) — and Rules
is the second reboot.
Ed Asner, who died
in 2021, age 91, co-stars
as Grandpa Heffley, the
grandfather of Greg (the
Wimpy Kid) and Greg’s
annoying brother, Rodrick.
Basic plot: Greg does
Rodrick a big favor and
Rodrick shares his “secret
rules” with Greg. The
“rules” are tips on how to
manipulate people into
doing stuff that Rodrick
likes. About halfway
through the film, the boys’
parents go out of town, and
they stay with their Grandpa
at his nursing home for
several days.
Asner loved to work and
at the time of his death
he had completed 10 TV
shows and movies that
hadn’t (yet) been released.
Six Asner projects (two
voice and four “live”) remain
to be released.
The most exciting is
Deadly Draw in which
he co-stars as “Max
Perlmutter” (got to be
Jewish!) a participant in a
very dangerous card game.
By the way, Asner holds
the record for the most
Primetime Emmys won
(seven) by any actor. He
could be the first actor to
win an Emmy two years or
more after his death!
The Whale, which is
now in theaters, stars
Brendan Fraser as Charlie,
a morbidly obese man. He
is plagued with guilt about
leaving his wife for another
man.
He also feels guilty
about leaving his daughter
behind, and they are
long estranged. After the
death of his male partner,
Charlie “cycles” down and
he seems to want to kill
himself via overeating.
Film festival audiences
seemed to love the film,
and there’s real “Oscar
buzz” about Fraser’s
performance. But reviews,
overall, are mostly negative.
The film was directed
by Darren Arnofsky, 53.
None of his films are “easy”
watches (his hits include
The Wrestler and Black
Swan).
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Robert Downey Sr.
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