It’s weird to see the roles older actors take. Sure, there are not a lot of parts for guys over 60 that aren’t grandfather roles (or going to Nicholson), but you have to ask yourself why guys like Peter O’Toole make shitty family films. Is it because he has saved absolutely no money from his career? Or is it because working keeps him alive, and in that case is having to star in a movie about an Englishman who loves a dog the definition of a living hell?
Robert Duvall seems to be dipping his toes in these waters. He’s had a good couple of years for a very old man, and even his recent bad films – We Own the Night, for one – don’t stink of paycheck or keeping himself occupied. So maybe that can give us some level of hope for Four Christmases, a treacly sounding bit of holiday schmaltz starring Vince Vaughn, a guy who post Fred Clause needs to step away from the sleigh.
Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon play a couple trying to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas. I imagine Duvall is somebody’s dad. The other thing that makes me a little bit hopeful – just a tiny bit, mind you – is that the film is being directed by Seth Gordon, the guy who did King of Kong. Of course this could just be Gordon’s major Hollywood sell-out career killer. Who knows?
In the meantime, if Robert Duvall needs some cash, he should give us a call. Nick and I are Italian, and Tom Hagen must know that we can help him out.