Chaplin: The Movie

[BlodwynPig]

What a mad, sprawling but ultimately zero stars film

Classic early 90s biopic by Dickie Attenborough, just scene after scene of nods to the knowing audience. In the cold embrace of dawn i think the two aspects that elevate it above worst film of all time are Robert Downey Jnr's performance, especially the final scene in which he looks like an aged Brando regressing to babyhood, and Anthony Hopkins' wardrobe - surely tailored for Charlie's Angels not Charlie Chaplin.

It also firmly fits into list of movies with mad mega casts - everyone stuffed in - early David Duchovny, Marisa Tomei, Mila Jovovich, moira kelly (twice), Kevin Kline, Dan Aykroyd, James Woods, Kevin (Veep) Dunn.

Then there are the Brits: Inspector Morse, Hal from Maid Marian, Martin from Game On (coincedentally featuring Ben Chaplin, no relation I think?), Chaplin's actual daughter, Fleabag's dad, Time Trumpet's East End Thug.

I'm still reeling from it.

-5 popcorn kernels out of 5

[Monsieur Verdoux]

It is absolute shit, but the cast is amazing. I mean, Kevin Kline as Douglas Fairbanks is a great thing to have happened in an absolutely lousy movie. I think the problem with it is that it neither works as drama nor is it particularly revealing about the man or his art. It's just a bunch of stuff strung together, like so many of the cradle to grave biopics that used to be fashionable

[Gulftastic]

Martin from Game On is Stan Laurel.

I agree about it being a lot of set pieces, but Downey Jr is bloody brilliant, imho. Especially since up to that point in his career he'd been known mainly for pretty boy roles with little substance.

[The Culture Bunker]

I agree about it being a lot of set pieces, but Downey Jr is bloody brilliant, imho. Especially since up to that point in his career he'd been known mainly for pretty boy roles with little substance.

I was trying to think how he got such a high-profile role despite the prior career you mention, but looking at pics from him circa 1990, he did have a look of Chaplin, which may got him enough attention to then prove he could act too.

Or maybe the producers were huge fans of Air America, I dunno.

[BlodwynPig]

I think we had a thread (maybe I created it) about bloated mad casts.

John Thaw
James Woods
Martin from Game On
Hal from Maid Marian
Marisa Tomei
Dan Aykroyd

Come on, madness

[biggytitbo]

Chapin always came across as an excuse to recreate some old iconic Chaplin scenes to me.

In terms of mad casts, Murder By Death still wins for me, I mean - David Niven, Peter Sellers, Alec Guinness, Peter Falk, Maggie Smith, Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote and Elsa Lanchester is stellar mixture.

[Icehaven]

One of my all time favourite films, although I know it's far from perfect. I've loved Robert Downey jnr. since I was about 11 in 1990 though so I'm biased. Still regret the Marvel dominated direction his career took but I'm pretty sure he doesn't.

[SteveDave]

Is a lot of RDJs voice overdubs? I remember it sounding weird the last time I saw it.

[mothman]

Looking at Hopkins' modern filmography, it's basically a mix of the stuff that he wants to do versus that which pays the bills. And 1992 is an interesting year for him. Some of it must have predated his renaissance in Silence of the Lambs (and, let me tell you, you may think his contemporary filmography is bleak at times,  but look at that decade prior to 1991... oof). There's Freejack. And Spottswood. But there's also Dracula, and Howard's End. And, yes, Chaplin. Was he always meant to be in it? Or was the conceit of a thrown-together framing sequence, starting le star du jour, a late addition? I halfway suspect that, had Chaplin come out in 1994 after Shawshank Redemption, then Chaplin's fictional editor/publisher would have been played by Morgan Freeman...