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). CELEBRITY NEWS NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST ARTS&LIFE IMDB Robert Downey Sr. GAGE SKIDMORE Robert Downey Jr. SAMHSA Ed Asner