What’s Aged the Worst?
De Niro not playing Neil McCauley; De Niro kissing; unmotivated De Niro-Deirdre romance; 1970s-style score; visible stunt doubles
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:46Read transcript
- De Niro should simply have been Neil McCauley, with Frankenheimer calling Michael Mann for permission.
- Seeing De Niro kiss someone is gross; he rarely puts himself in that position.
- A Sea of Love tangent mocks Pacino's kissing style and recalls joking about its sex scenes with a best man.
- The De Niro-Deirdre romance is shoehorned with no connection scene; a counterpoint says the making out is cover, but De Niro's other behavior suggests he would have killed or abandoned her, and the hosts cite an LA Times piece saying Mamet added the love interest.
- The score is the most 1970s thing in the movie; a pulsing Heat-style or Prodigy-era score, as in The Saint or The Bourne Identity, would work.
- Middle-aged actors are welcome, but the stunt doubles show: a young man with black hair stands through the sunroof with the bazooka, and gymnast-like doubles tumble in the amphitheater.