7 comedies with De Niro recommended to lift your spirits (8 photos + 7 videos)

New and long-forgotten films that are worth re-watching.





When it comes to comedies and comedians, Robert De Niro is not the first person who comes to mind. However, in the career of perhaps the most successful and titled actor in the world, there are many comedic roles, some of which are even too daring for such a respected filmmaker.

Critics wrote that De Niro himself is not funny and does not try to be funny on camera, and the paradox is that this is precisely what makes him funny. They also wrote that it was not appropriate for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull to show off fake breasts in the frame, like in “Meet the Fockers.” Even Al Pacino once said that he did not expect Bob to stoop to vulgar comedies (Pacino had not yet acted with Adam Sandler). Fortunately, De Niro continues to star in films in a variety of genres, which we are always happy to appreciate. Let's see what De Niro has brought to us in the comedy genre.

De Niro's newest comedy role is “Weekend with Dad”



“Weekend with Dad” will be released on June 1, but just from the trailer you can say that it looks like De Niro’s best comedies. Firstly, there is also unequal acquaintance here, as in “Meeting the Parents.” Salvo (De Niro) meets the parents of his son's fiancée, who are not at all like him - they manage millions, and all of Salvo's savings are placed in a mayonnaise jar; he, as they say, is a simple man, and they have peacocks on their estate, which Salvo cooks for dinner, mistaking them for chicken. Secondly, Italian-American stereotypes and the constant ridicule of them make this film similar to Analyze This.

De Niro's partner in the film was comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. They met De Niro on the set of Martin Scorsese's The Irishman. Maniscalco wrote the script for “Weekend with Dad” based on his own life and his own father, an Italian immigrant. The real Salvo Maniscalco even attended the filming as a consultant: “I came to the set to make sure they didn’t screw anything up.” And De Niro met with him several times while preparing for the role.

Batya's host is Kim Cattrall as high society lady MacArthur Collins. “Weekend with Dad” is Cattrall's return to her comedy roots. Let us remember that the actress, who became famous in the TV series “Sex and the City,” started with “Police Academy.”

The most important comedy role is “The King of Comedy”





De Niro plays the under-talented, but very stubborn Rupert Papkin, who dreams of becoming the greatest comedian. Receiving refusal after refusal, he finally decides to commit a crime - together with his girlfriend, Papkin kidnaps his idol, a popular TV host of an evening show (played by the legendary comedian Jerry Lewis), and for one evening he becomes the host himself. “It’s better to be a king for one night than a nonentity all your life,” De Niro ends his speech.

The film failed, and director Martin Scorsese himself was dissatisfied with “The King.” He was very pleased with his longtime friend Bob's performance, but was not happy with his work. “If one of the partners receives more from your union than the other, then you need to separate,” he said in an interview. After “The King of Comedy,” Scorsese didn’t film De Niro for 8 years.

Over time, the film was appreciated, but when it first came out, critics and audiences did not like the sharp turn from “Taxi Driver” and “Mean Streets” towards a tragicomedy about a mediocre comedian. And they scolded him for the happy ending - Papkin goes to prison, writes a book about his misadventures, becomes famous and is given the opportunity to host his own show. Many years later, inspired by “The King of Comedy,” Todd Phillips will direct “Joker,” where the ending will be completely different, and De Niro will play the role of the TV idol of the main character, Rupert Papkin of the new time, the Joker.



De Niro's funniest comedy role is "Meet the Parents"



Did you know that this film is a remake of the 1992 comedy of the same name? And that “Meet the Parents” was supposed to be directed by Steven Spielberg, and Jim Carrey was going to play the role of Gaylord Focker? It would be interesting to see the on-screen pairing of De Niro and Carrey. However, in the end, Ben Stiller became De Niro's partner in the film.

In the story, a nurse with the strange name Gaylord and the even stranger surname Faker (in the original Focker, and in our translations Tracher) meets the parents of the bride, whose father is a retired CIA officer who has split hundreds of double agents during his many years of career. The confrontation between a strong pensioner and a weak nurse turned out to be truly funny. De Niro proved to be a wonderful, serious complement to Stiller's comic timing.

The film was a success at the box office, so in 2004 the second part was released, in which the bride's parents meet the groom's parents - they were played by Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman. Here the critics have already said their “fuck”, which, however, did not affect the excellent box office. The third episode (about the Focker children) is considered the most unsuccessful and the most vulgar - almost all the jokes in the film are about erectile dysfunction.



De Niro parodies himself - “Analyze This”



Apparently, in 1999, the idea of ​​a film about a tough mafioso visiting a psychotherapist was in the air. Almost simultaneously, the comedy “Analyze This” and the gangster series “The Sopranos” are released with the same premise.

De Niro played the godfather of Vito Corleone, and he plays the godfather here too. But this godfather suffers from panic attacks. He attends sessions with a psychotherapist, and then tries to work through problems with colleagues in a way that is not customary in the mafia, that is, without the use of brute force and weapons.

Billy Crystal continues the series of wonderful comedians with whom De Niro played. Chazz Palmiteri, whose “A Bronx Tale” was De Niro's directorial debut, also plays his usual gangster role in the film, but also with a comedic twist. The sentimental bandit played by De Niro was liked by audiences and critics. The collections of “Analyze This” exceeded the budget six times, so two years later a sequel, “Analyze That,” was released, which failed miserably without recouping the costs. The audience’s verdict was: “You can’t build two films on one joke.”



De Niro's cutest comedy role is “The Intern”



Comedies are built on opposites: a poor Italian-American and rich whites, an arrogant bandit and a modest psychotherapist, a stern father of a family and a soft-spoken nurse. Here old age and youth came together, an experienced pensioner and a young and not sophisticated, but ambitious girl.

Robert De Niro's hero cannot sit idle in retirement and, with the help of a program for employing pensioners, comes to work in an online store as an intern. This film is about how a pensioner becomes a confident PC user (it's really funny), but also about warm human relationships (it's very nice). De Niro's partners were Anne Hathaway (she plays the boss) and Rene Russo (the romantic interest of the main character).



De Niro's most controversial comedy role is “Grandfather of Easy Virtue”



This film is in many ways the worst in De Niro's filmography. For example, he was nominated for the Golden Raspberry for this film. “This film should be burned!”, “The worst picture in the history of cinema,” “This is Plan 9 from Outer Space for Robert De Niro,” these are the most harmless reviews. “Plan 9” is a low-budget science fiction film that became the last film of the great Bela Lugosi. Fortunately, “Grandfather” was not the last in De Niro’s career, and he was able to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of his fans.

Viewers will remember the film for its large amount of outhouse humor (in this regard, “Grandfather” left the last “Fakers” far behind), and Zac Efron will be remembered for the fact that De Niro lifted him onto his shoulders without outside help.



The largest concentration of stars in a comedy with De Niro - Star Peppers



In this star-studded comedy about old guys on their last bachelor party in Vegas, De Niro was accompanied by Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline. And also Mary Steenburgen (Clara from Back to the Future 3). Formally, the main character in the film is played by Michael Douglas (he is throwing a bachelor party for the wedding of a young girl), but the rest of Hollywood veterans were given a lot of time on the screen.

This film may actually also get status in our selection of “the most standard De Niro comedy of recent years.” To the extent of jokes about old age and erectile dysfunction, gags and sentimentality.