eric robert deserved an oscar - The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) Discussion

[–] pixelwks 15 years ago

I know I'm going against the prevailing thought here, but I don't agree.

I found his performance "over the top" and amateurish.

I know I'm in the minority on this.

edit: just noticed the long discussion that agrees with me.

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] bbillcee 15 years ago

LOL i was being sarcastic i thought he was terrible

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[–] morningsidemary 15 years ago

I just saw the movie last night and hated Eric Roberts' acting, or over-acting. He played the character so gay, so over the top, so dumb, so needy, so too much everything, you wonder how Charlie could sacrifice his job, his girlfriend, his life for this idiot. It was totally unbelievable, family or no family.

I have never liked Eric Roberts, before or since, and this movie certainly helps to explain why. Even his voice is super annoying.

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[–] m_riley 14 years ago

Agreed. Waaaaaay too over the top. Rourke's performance is the only thing that made Roberts tolerable.

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[–] Jokerslye 14 years ago

To be honest you saying it was "over the top" and amateurish is clearly stupid. I am not a big fan of his but honestly that was his best acting he has ever done.

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[–] punter_ag 14 years ago

I think Eric is a good under rated actor BUT..

Erics performance was absolutely embarrassing in this movie.

A friend of mine watched this with my yesterday and asked to turn it off and even remarked "is this a joke?"

The performance is not believable at all, its meant to be a crime story.

Sure, the roberts character was a dody limewire sort but Roberts went way to far and it was just silly.

And lol at the people being sarcastic in this thread and even more lol at those people replying who think the ones being sarcastic are serious....and actually agreeing!

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[–] nova1942 11 years ago

For heaven's sake...for one thing....he was acting like that on purpose!!! And he was good at it...have you ever seen him act like this since? He was following writer's and director's direction for goodness sake!!!

And two...do you see how young he was?!!!

I am a fan of his....usually gritty...except once when his heart was broken.
But I am not a fan of Mickey Rourke...seems like a street kid who got lucky breaks in being put in movies...and unfortunately hasn't aged as well as Eric.

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[–] montrossboc-1 10 years ago

nova, I agree. Eric Roberts makes the movie.

Short Cut, Draw Blood

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[–] DeuceWild_77 15 years ago

Both Mickey and Eric deserved nominations for their amazing performances in this movie.

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[–] Dav777 15 years ago

Yep. There hasn't been a performance like that before or since. To me, it's like Fredo in the Godfathers...Just because you didn't like the performance or rather found the character annoying...does not mean it wasn't brilliant acting. Idiots. I rest my case.

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[–] flystv 11 years ago

Excellent point. I've lived in and around NYC my whole life and I have known many over the top real life characters just like Paulie. In fact, I was an idiot just like him when I was in my early 20's. I know people like Paulie are annoying, but there is a charming innocence there as well. Sure, they test the patence, but Roberts hit a bullseye because he took a chance to play it the way it really is with some people. And Mickey Rourke was spot on. The relationship was very close to DeNiro and Keitel in Mean Streets.

Too bad Eric found his macho mojo.

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[–] rcardill 14 years ago

Brilliant acting. The funny thing is Julia Roberts is such a "big star" while Eric can act her under the table.

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[–] jemimakahn 14 years ago

Eric Roberts was superb. He's deserved an Oscar a few times over. The guy took such risks with his characters and performances. A unique presence in cinema.

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[–] WarpedRecord 14 years ago

I so agree with you on Eric's presence. If they gave Oscars for talent instead of just star power, he would have had several by now and his sister would have been left in the dust long ago.

Eric has tended to make fairly gritty, low-budget films, but he always shines. After seeing him in "Star 80" more than 25 years ago, I was hooked for life.

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[–] drew1116 14 years ago

I thought Roberts was great. I suppose at times he was slightly over the top but that was his character or at least the way he played it. His character was interesting, not the usual sidekick and enjoyable to watch. Think of it another way, had Roberts not been in this movie, come up with another actor from then or even now who could have played that part better.

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[–] WarpedRecord 14 years ago

I couldn't think of anyone else who could have played that role, certainly not as well as Eric Roberts. Just a genuinely loopy character that added real charm to this movie. Eric has always taken chances with his characters, and the fact that he has never taken himself too seriously as given him free reign.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] balboa76 13 years ago

This is one of Eric Roberts greatest performances, he even mentioned it in an interview, the other films he mentioned were Runaway Train and Star 80. Rourke always mentions Roberts performance in The Pope of Greenwich Village as one of his all time favorites.

It always amazes me when the brain dead generation posts an opinion lol Please go back too playing video games.

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] stickley85 13 years ago

Definitely.He had some amazing roles back in the day.This one,Star 80,and Runaway Train.

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[–] erikriveros 12 years ago

you were kidding?

just about every move on IMDB has a 'should've gotten the oscar/was robbed of the oscar post'...and just about everyone i think is wrong

but here, roberts, was FANTASTIC, utterly great and without question steals every scene he is in...first of all, i don't think everyone is grasping what 'over the top' really means....the CHARACTER was an over-the-top guy...it needed to be played like roberts played it

and what's even funnier to me, is that i think eric roberts is a hack! every other thing he's in is mediocre..but i gotta give props where due - and in TPOGV, eric roberts knocks it out of the park

he plays the simpleton/loser to PERFECTION before he gets his thumb chopped off ..afterwards, my god, EVEN BETTER...the scene immediately after he loses his thumb, where he's standing in charlie's room, 1/2 in pain, 1/2 doped up and telling the story about how you gotta be tough with your woman is incredible...for all i know, he really did collapse at the end of the scene...

some actors are just made to do a particular role in a particular film - this was roberts'...

best in the film.

it is better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it

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[–] ThisRockinMovieBuff 12 years ago

I agree. He made the role. Having the capability to make the audience (or viewer) feel sorry for such a pathetically lost and dimwitted loser is a note worthy achievement in acting, something many lack these days.

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[–] MaverickDaTopGun 11 years ago

Eric roberts easily deserved an oscar nom for this the man is brilliant.

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[–] tom-1674 10 years ago

i think eric roberts is a hack! every other thing he's in is mediocre

I'm guessing you haven't seen Star 80. He nails that role perfectly.

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[–] montrossboc-1 10 years ago

Incredible performance.

Actually a pretty realistic interpretation of an Italian character of that ilk.

He had the 'Johnny Boy' role (a term I use for people who play characters like De Niro's Johnny Boy in Mean Streets. Ed Norton plays one in 'Rounders', Geena Davis plays one in 'Thelma and Louise'. Their characters are trouble). Eric did a great job.

Short Cut, Draw Blood

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[–] sammybear85 9 years ago

The guy single handedly brought the movie down a couple notches and that's a generous statement. Wouldnt compare this with Fredo, John Cazale showed how it needs to be done. Eric Roberts just showed what shouldnt be.

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[–] romeofabian 9 years ago

The guy single handedly brought the movie down a couple notches and that's a generous statement. Wouldnt compare this with Fredo, John Cazale showed how it needs to be done. Eric Roberts just showed what shouldnt be.

have to agree

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] Brue152 9 years ago

I can't believe that people enjoyed Erics performance. It was so annoying to me.
I watched it for the first time last night and I stopped watching after the scene in the apartment when he lost his thumb. Ridiculous.

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