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Career Dive: Danny DeVito
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Release Date
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April 14, 2021
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Running Time
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26:55
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(We begin the video with the intros for Channel Awesome and then the intro for Career Dive before cutting to NC)
NC: Okay, so there's a lot of actors who get type-cast.
(Cut to images of Jeff Goldblum, Seth Rogen, Jack Nicholson, and Matthew Broderick before cutting to footage of Danny DeVito)
NC (vo): Jeff Goldblum is always going to play Jeff Goldblum. Seth Rogen is going to play Seth Rogen. While this works for some actors and not others, one of the people often put in that category is Danny DeVito. Known for being an aggressive, tough-talking screamer, DeVito is often seen by many audiences as only a funny entertainer. But with a career spanning over 50 years, a variety of performances from heartfelt to heartless, and a massively creative life behind the camera as a director, writer and producer...
NC: ...Danny DeVito is about as versatile as they come.
(Cut to more footage of DeVito)
NC (vo): Despite a voice, appearance, and yes, height that Hollywood often find limiting, DeVito has shown his wide range of talents time and time again. Whether it's being the center of attention, part of an ensemble piece, or even just blending into the background, the amount of talent this guy has demonstrated is anything but limiting.
NC: And behind the fun and silly persona he gives off, he also has a twisted dark side.
(Cut to more footage of DeVito)
NC (vo): This is actually what I wanted to focus the most on. While people love him for roles like Louie from Taxi and Frank from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, there's a very stylized, shadow-heavy, delightfully meanspirited nature that fills the frame of most of the films he's directed.
NC: While many people talk about his talents in front of the camera, I want to talk about his talents behind the camera.
(Cut to more footage of DeVito's directed films)
NC (vo): Because when you see a Danny DeVito film, you know you're going to get something, yes, silly and over the top, but also demented and one-of-a-kind.
NC: Like before, I want to focus mainly on professional as opposed to personal, so I'm not really going to talk much about his personal life, unless it somehow works its way into his career.
(Cut to more footage of DeVito)
NC (vo): With that said, Danny DeVito is an entertainer many people have underestimated and even taken for granted. So I wanted to put a spotlight on one of the industry's most uniquely creative talents.
NC: But first, let's give a little background to see where this guy came from.
(Cut to photos of DeVito when he was young, then a scene in Taxi)
NC (vo): Born in 1944 on November 17th, (images of Martin Scorsese, Lorne Michaels, and NC are superimposed on the center) the birthday of most creative geniuses, DeVito was born in Neptune Township, New Jersey, with a rare genetic disorder called Fairbank's disease, which affected his bone growth. Though many would see his height as a disadvantage, he leaned heavily into it and embraced it as part of his identity, rarely shying away from a height joke as long as it was a funny height joke.
Alex Reiger: A set of tiny footprints!
Louie De Palma: And what does that tell you?
Alex Reiger: You just had a dance lesson?
(The audience laughs as Louie realizes he's been exposed)
NC (vo): Growing up with two sisters, he actually started off as a beautician at one of his sister's beauty salons. I know, right? It almost sounds like a scheme (superimpose an image of...) Frank Reynolds would have. When his sister decided she wanted to expand into cosmetics, she sent Danny to study makeup at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. While there, he saw some of the students acting, gave it a try, and found he was actually pretty good. He immediately was hooked and decided "an actor's life for me!", bouncing from play to play and befriending another struggling actor at the time, the then-unknown Michael Douglas, despite his father being a little bit of a name. They became friends, which was very fortunate, as Michael's father Kirk just bought the rights to the book (superimpose a book of...) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and turned it into a play. Kirk liked DeVito's work and casted him in a small role as one of the patients named Martini. And when the film adaptation came out, he was casted as the same character. A lot of times, when actors try these kind of roles, they feel gimmicky like they're trying to show off, but look at him. He's totally believable in this role, as are a lot of the actors in this movie. Not stealing the spotlight, but just doing what's needed while also coming across as charmingly genuine. This is also where he met Vincent Schiavelli, who he would use in most of his productions. While not a starring role, it did leave an impact with many people, and more on-screen auditions started coming in.
NC: A lot of them didn't amount to much, but he got a big break on the hit TV series Taxi.
Louie De Palma: KRUBNIK! Try something new tonight, like making money.
NC (vo): He played Louie De Palma, the angry loudmouth boss at a taxi service in New York.
NC: Now, the part was originally just supposed to be a voice, kind of like...
(Cut back to Taxi, then an image of Lorenzo Music from Rhoda is superimposed)
NC (vo): ...Lorenzo Music in Rhoda, but DeVito had such a presence that they had to have the audience see him as well. And thank God, because this cast was a treasure trove of future stars to be a part of. Judd Hirsch, Tony Danza, Marilu Henner, Andy Kaufman, and another Cuckoo's Nest co-star Christopher Lloyd. He role was expanded beyond just being a voice, giving him some of the biggest laughs but also some heartfelt moments as well. Despite the series certainly getting its height jokes in - hell, the first time you see all of him is technically a height joke...
Louie De Palma: Okay! I gotta get tough with you guys!
(The crowd laughs as we see that Louie is smaller than the group of men he's talking to)
NC (vo): ...the show did allow for more dramatic moments involving that too, like when he says how he has to go to the husky section at a children's store to buy clothes.
Louie De Palma: The last time... one of the mothers said, "You're lucky. At least you won't outgrow it in six months."
NC (vo): This could have been just an easy section for laughs, but they found a good middle ground where you really do feel what he has to go through sometimes.
Louie De Palma: The worst moment... all the parents tell their kids... not to stare...
NC (vo): He was even given a romantic partner, played by Rhea Perlman, who was his real sweetheart offset as well. (cut to an image of the two, then scenes of the two interacting in various movies) The two met at a play and instantly hit it off, getting married in 1982 and constantly showing up in each other's productions. Though they did split years later, they say they're still good friends and have nothing but love and respect for one another. I think that shows the majority of times you see them together.
NC: After people fell in love with DeVito for five years on that hit show, bigger roles started to pour in.
(Images are shown of Terms of Endearment, Ruthless People, Romancing the Stone, and The Ratings Game, followed by clips of The Ratings Game)
NC (vo): Big productions like Terms of Endearment, Ruthless People, and Romancing the Stone, where he worked once again with Michael Douglas. In between those productions, he directed his first feature-length film in 1984, a TV movie called The Ratings Game. Though more tamed compared to later comedies he'd direct, it still has the silly but clever trademarks his movies often have. A rich trucker wants to make his new TV show a hit, but people have so little faith in it that it's placed on at the same time as the World Series. When he discovers ratings are measured by only a handful of families, he finds out who the families are, has them all coincidentally win a summer cruise trip, and hires people to watch his show in their homes while they're out. Suddenly everybody loves him because he has a hit series. All he has to do is figure out how to keep those families on the cruise for months in order to keep the ratings high. It's a goofy but still pretty funny idea that has the perfect ending of DeVito winning an award for best production while in handcuffs. That image alone carries so much commentary with it. The whole film has kind of a goofy satirical edge that's always either witty and on-point or bizarrely surreal.
Woodrow T. Brown (Damon Hines): I ain't never seen so many white people in one room!
(The audience laughs and applauds)
NC (vo): And once again, it has a bunch of familiar faces before they became familiar faces. It's a cute movie. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out when you get a chance. Like I said, there's nothing really that dark in it except maybe this weird transition.
(Clip cuts away from Francine Kester (Rhea Perlman) to a creepily laughing and moving mannequin)
NC: (shrugs) That was pretty nightmarish.
(Cut to footage of Throw Momma from the Train)
NC (vo): DeVito would begin forming his trademark darkness while bringing the same level of silliness when he directed his next film in 1987, Throw Momma from the Train. Teaming up with Billy Crystal, DeVito plays the student of a writing teacher who misinterprets a conversation for a proposition for killing each other's nagging loved ones. DeVito would kill Crystal's wife, and Crystal would kill DeVito's mother, similar to the plot of Strangers on a Plane.
NC: This is where you see DeVito really start to form his style.
(Cut to more footage of the film)
NC (vo): With his distorted angles, shadowy shots, and mean/downright VIOLENT subject matter.
NC: But this is also where you start to see two big differences between DeVito's directing and the directing of other dark directors.
(Cut to more footage of the film, followed by superimposed images of Tim Burton, Guillermo del Toro, and Barry Sonnenfeld, then images from Beetlejuice, The Shape of Water, and Men in Black, then back to the film)
NC (vo): One is when you look at a film by, say, Burton or del Toro or Sonnenfeld, usually they focus on monsters and how they interact with humanity. With DeVito, the monsters are always just... people.
(Clips are played of several DeVito-directed films, including Death to Smoochy and Matilda)
NC (vo): They create their own misadventures, often through misunderstandings or naivete, and the type of strange creatures they'd become are still human beings, yet they're photographed like grotesque monstrosities. Even if it's hard to tell who's supposed to be good and who's supposed to be evil, there's always a sense that everyone can be or might already be some type of monster.
NC: The second is (images of Burton, del Toro, and Sonnenfeld appear to NC's left) these directors are no stranger to being goofy, but DeVito is really goofy.
(Cut back to footage of the film)
NC (vo): Like childishly goofy. Like slapstick, "Three Stooges", "Looney Tunes" type of goofy. Take, for example, when DeVito makes a call to Crystal after killing his wife. He keeps hanging up and trying to find a different phone so he can't be traced. And literally in seconds, he's in a completely different location each time. That is so one-of-a-kind odd.
NC: Which is also a good way to describe the film.
(Cut back to footage of the film)
NC (vo): I think people were probably shocked to see DeVito take such a meanspirited turn, but again, there was such a silliness that went with it too that I think it still managed to win people over. I consider this the beginning of him being a dark but still silly director.
NC (vo): He would continue to act in big movies but not just as a supporting role; also as the lead.
(Posters are shown of Twins, Other People's Money, and The War of the Roses)
NC (vo): He'd star in massive films Twins, Other People's Money, and direct what I consider one of the greatest dark comedies of all time. His magnum opus. The harshest of harsh. A tale of romance that has you laughing while also screaming "Holy goddamn shit!"
(Cut to black, then white text appears reading "Hold On to Your Wedding Rings")
NC (vo): Hold on to your wedding rings.
(We cut to a commercial break. When the break ends, the title card for The War of the Roses is shown)
NC (vo): War of the Roses came out in 1989, and...
NC: ...I have a... kind of funny introduction to it.
(Clips of the film are shown)
NC (vo): My grandma was watching this movie on HBO when I was a kid, and she watched it with a very confused look. She wasn't laughing, she wasn't angry, she was just... confused. She held this look halfway through the film until she suddenly threw up her arms and said, "Oh! It's a comedy!", and laughed throughout the rest of the movie. That's how dark a comedy this is. Some people don't even figure out it is a comedy for a fair amount of time.
NC: The premise sounds simple.
(Cut back to footage of the film)
NC (vo): Just a couple, played by Kathleen Turner and his [DeVito's] old pal again Michael Douglas, falling in love and then getting a divorce. Doesn't sound like anything too crazy. But the best way I can describe it is think of "marriage story with private parts being bitten". It goes all out! This is the movie where DeVito started to get more into using controlled sets as opposed to real outdoor shots, as it allowed the film to have a beautifully artificial but more gothic look as well. The comedy, though, is only as good as the tragedy as you see neither of these people are really that bad deep down; they truly did have feelings for each other. But as it demonstrates, if a couple can't be on the same page anymore, they better stop fighting over the book 'cause they're gonna papercut each other to death. So much of it works because of how seriously the relationship is taken and how you understand what each side is going through.
NC: But it does still have that DeVito goofiness as well.
(Footage of the film continues)
NC (vo): The film opens up with a beautiful title sequence against what looks like elegant white silk. After spending the opening credits in this world of beauty, we find it's actually a handkerchief and DeVito blows his nose in it. (in snooty critic voice) That's just immature!
NC: I love it.
(Footage of the film continues)
NC (vo): It's gorgeous, it's ugly, it's heartfelt, it's mean, it's funny, it's sad, it's a dark comic masterpiece. If you haven't checked it out yet, do so. It really is a phenomenal work.
Gavin D'Amato (DeVito): The poor bastards never had a chance.
NC: When the 90's hit, you could argue that's when DeVito got the closest to being consistently dark.
(Clips are shown of DeVito as the Penguin in Batman Returns)
NC (vo): Starting with playing the comic book icon, the Penguin, in Batman Returns. As much as I and others have pointed out the issues with this character - is he supposed to be sympathetic or a full-blown monster? - there's no denying DeVito disappears into this role. You can see it's clearly him, but with the makeup, change of voice, grunting sounds, and physically throwing everything into it, he really does become this despicable beast. Not one shred of that likable actor we've seen before shines through at all.
NC: This would also begin his long friendship with director...
(Image is shown of DeVito next to...)
NC (vo): ...Tim Burton, who DeVito would joke has been used so many times in his movies, he actually has a circus trilogy, (images are shown of Penguin in Batman Returns, Amos Callaway in Big Fish, and Max Medici in the 2019 remake of Dumbo, all played by DeVito) as in three separate films he's run a circus.
NC: After that, DeVito directed his first drama, a biopic called...
(Clips are shown of...)
NC (vo): ...Hoffa, starring Jack Nicholson. I know people are kind of split on this film, especially after The Irishman offered a more realistic take on the man, but I'm sorry. I love the shit out of this movie. This is the kind of biopic they don't make anymore. What I call a "bio-epic". The kind of films that take a personal story and romanticize it to a spectacular degree. I think the last ones I can think that did something like this is maybe Tombstone or Frida. It's big, it's grand, it's got booming music, half the story is told through its imagery. You can tell this flick takes several pages from (superimpose image in bottom-right corner of...) Citizen Kane with its shadow work, extreme depth of field, and breathtaking transitions. Seriously, this film has some of the best transitions I've ever seen.
NC: With that said, like a lot of bio-epics, a lot of it is played up and/or exaggerated greatly.
(Cut back to footage of Hoffa)
NC (vo): I don't even think DeVito's character is a real person. I think he's a mishmash of several people Hoffa knew over the years.
NC: But when you watch a movie that looks and...
NC (vo): ...feels like this, I think you can kind of put that together. I get why these movies are out of style as it makes more sense to make a biography more personal, gritty, and real, but... God, do I miss these kind of flicks. Nicholson is one of the few actors who got a Golden Globe nomination for the same performance he got a Razzie nomination for. It's that divisive. On the one hand, I really like when he's talking at a normal tone. I think he's really good at hooking you in immediately to what he's saying.
Jimmy Hoffa (Nicholson): Trying to make a reputation for himself. Wants a reputation? Why doesn't he rob a bank?
NC (vo): It's only when he screams that it starts to sound a little silly. I just don't think he quite has the accent down when he has to make his voice louder.
Jimmy Hoffa: Dan Tobin wants to tell me something that I don't know...
Jimmy Hoffa: Tobin, the President, newspapers, every-fuckin'-body else in the world says I'm wrong, I gotta be right.
Jimmy Hoffa: Can you get me there?!
NC (vo): For me, though, I love that this film said "let's go big or let's go home". Even the ending gave me nightmares when I was watching it at 11 years old.
NC: I know. "What's an 11-year-old doing watching Hoffa?" It's the Joker and...
NC (vo): ...Penguin in a movie!
NC: Who wouldn't want to watch that?!
NC (vo): Seriously though, it was hard to get to sleep after watching that. I won't give it away, but (cut to scene of Pulp Fiction) let's just say I watched the opening of Pulp Fiction a few times to feel justified.
NC: Speaking of which, DeVito also became a very talented producer...
(Jersey Films logo is shown, followed by clip/poster of Pulp Fiction, posters for Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and Gattaca, and clips of Matilda)
NC (vo): ...helping create Jersey Films in 1991, saying he wanted to give up-and-coming filmmakers a chance to make the movies they wanted to make with little interference. He apparently had a good eye for talent as he produced Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and Gattaca, helmed by some of Hollywood's now biggest name directors. While still acting in movies, DeVito went on to direct possibly his most popular film in 1996, Matilda.
NC: So I have... kind of an interesting history with his movie.
(Footage of Matilda continues)
NC (vo): Back when 90 percent of what I reviewed was negative, I announced I was going to review this. Correctly predicting I was gonna rip it apart, everybody begged me not to do it. Yeah, I didn't like the film, but not enough to take on so much of a headache. And boy, I'm glad I didn't because watching it again years later, I've... actually really grown... to love this movie. Roald Dahl's classic tale about a little girl with magical powers getting revenge on all the grown-ups in her life didn't win me over back then but totally has now. What I originally didn't like was how pointlessly dark it was, how out-of-nowhere ridiculous it could become, and how childish so much of it came across.
NC: Years later, those are the exact things I love about it.
NC (vo): Maybe because a lot of kids' media has gotten more safe and friendly or, when it's not safe and friendly, it's overly complicated. I don't know. I just like this film now because it's dark and mean just for the sake of being dark and mean. On top of that, all the actors are on-point. Mara is really charming. DeVito is wonderfully dumb. Pam Ferris is so spectacularly over the top that every time an overly mean scene with her is shown, I now get why an overly nice scene immediately follows. I feel like it captures how a lot of kids see adults, including the nice ones. Embeth Davidtz plays a sympathetic guardian angel, which also shows her range because we know (superimpose image in top-left corner of Sheila in Army of Darkness) she can be bad but feel good. When it came out, it wasn't a massive hit, but it gained a following among kids because it was a lot harsher than other films they watched at the time. Much like those 80's kids films I always say more children should see to toughen up.
NC: So yeah. For years, people correctly assumed I didn't like the film. But now, years later, I think I finally get it.
NC (vo): You were all right. I was wrong. It happens. Let's never talk about it again.
(Footage of Matilda fades out, then fade in on images of Space Jam, Hercules, Junior, and Mars Attacks!, followed by clips of Death to Smoochy)
NC (vo): Adding lending his voice to animation and averaging four on-screen performances a year, DeVito was showing no signs of slowing down. This included directing his next film in 2002, Death to Smoochy. The film about a children's entertainer who gets replaced after a scandal and vows revenge got ripped apart by critics at the time and failed to find an audience on the big screen. Like Matilda, it's grown a cult following for how dark and bizarre it is, and most people I've talked to look back on it pretty fondly.
NC: Me personally? I don't know what to think of it.
(Footage of Death to Smoochy continues)
NC (vo): It does have some strange and memorable lines...
(Footage cuts from scene...)
Sheldon Mopes (Edward Norton): You know, it's a house of mirrors out there. You can't always tell what you're looking at.
(...to scene...)
Tommy Cotter (Pam Ferris): You boys ever traveled together before?
(...to scene)
Police Officer: You okay?
Randolph Smiley (Robin Williams): I don't know. I'm kind of fucked up in general, so it's hard to gauge.
NC: But it's kind of like The Room in that I'm constantly asking... "Why did they do that?"
NC (vo): There's a scene where I guess these business heads are supposed to make this guy feel small, but... look at the way they do it. What the hell am I looking at right now? There's these talks with this mobster whose face they keep hidden, and then they just show it like it's nothing, only to hide it again in a later scene, where all the shots are close-ups of their eyes. There's no payoff or anything. It's just close-ups of their eyes. The whole film is filled with weird moments like this that I can't explain but I will admit I do find fascinating. I feel like the commentary on corruption in television was done much better in (superimpose image of The Ratings Game) something like The Ratings Game, but at the same time... I don't know. I still got some laughs out of it. I couldn't predict where it was going, I weirdly enjoyed questioning why things were done the way they were, and let's just say the reveal of where Smoochy's concert in the middle of the film was had me howling for a good while. I think it's an acquired taste, and I can't even explain what type of person you have to be to enjoy it. You just have to check it out and see if it's your thing or not.
NC: DeVito's last big screen film that he directed was in 2003 with Duplex.
(Title card and footage are shown of Duplex)
NC (vo): This is another one that didn't win over critics and audiences, but unlike Death to Smoochy, it didn't seem to gain a following. It's a good idea with decent writing. A couple move into a heavenly duplex at a great price under the condition they have to live below a seemingly kind old lady. Over time, though, they realize she's a pain in the ass, constantly ruining things without meaning to. They wait for her to die, but as she gets increasingly more annoying, they decide to bump her off themselves.
NC: Again, a delightfully meanspirited idea, but... everything's just a little off.
NC (vo): There's a rumor that DeVito was brought in at the last minute to direct, but I couldn't find anything that verified that. The only reason I bring it up is it kinda has that feel. The timing is a little wonky, the performances don't always seem focused, and DeVito's odd choices work more against the film this time rather than for it. It's not one of my personal faves, but maybe like some of his other films, it might find its crowd over time.
NC: But if you're looking for more laughs from DeVito, don't worry. In 2006, he started acting in a little show called It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
(Clip of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is shown)
NC: This... is one of the funniest shows ever made.
(Cut to more clips of It's Always Sunny)
NC (vo): Imagine Seinfeld meeting South Park in a glorious explosion of bad taste, pure vindictiveness, and virtually no redeemable people.
NC: I thought a show like this was too good to be true, too.
NC (vo): It's about four narcissistic sociopaths who run a pub... sometimes... but mainly find ways to entertain themselves or make the world a better place to live in by always making it a worse place to live in. The funny thing is DeVito doesn't enter the series until season 2, playing Frank Reynolds, their rich father who's fresh off a divorce and decides he wants to stop being proper and do whatever the hell he wants. He does exactly that, and... well... the show speaks for itself.
(Clip of Deandra (Kaitlin Olson) and Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton) screaming and throwing up on a roller coaster)
NC (vo): Keep in mind this series is fueled by this concept slowly going extinct called shock humor. So much like In Living Color, if you're a fan of putting the "#CANCEL" stamp on everything, this isn't gonna win you over. However, if you want to see five miserable dumbasses who think they're God's gift to humanity while constantly destroying the lives of the people around them...
NC: ...then you've struck comedic oil.
NC (vo): As of now running 14 seasons with apparently a 15th on the way, DeVito has again found another role to win people over and make us laugh our asses off.
NC: Because if there's anything DeVito has shown us, he's not only talented; he's adaptable.
(Footage is shown of DeVito in interviews, followed by DeVito in front of Jumanji: The Next Level backdrop, and an image of It's Always Sunny)
NC (vo): With over five decades in the field, almost 140 projects under his belt on IMDb, and still appearing in both hit movies and hit shows...
NC: ...Danny DeVito has given us quite a legacy.
(Various clips are shown of DeVito in TV shows, films, and interviews)
NC (vo): He's shown he wasn't just a one-note character actor like many would assume. He's demonstrated his wide range in acting, writing, producing, and directing. Whether it's giving in to his dark side, his funny side, or both, Danny DeVito is a man of many hats and knows how to utilize them. Like a lot of great actors and/or directors, I feel like he's a person we sometimes overlook for how brilliantly creative he is, both in front and behind the camera. Everyone knows who he is, but not everyone gets how rare a talent he is. Overcoming stereotype, giving wonderful performances, directing great films, finding phenomenal talent, doing so for over half a century, and accomplishing all of that with his own unique spin. I know there's a lot more I could cover with this guy and his work, but this is the stuff that stood out the most to me. However, if you got a favorite Danny DeVito show, movie, or moment, let me know in the comments. Because this is a guy who's lasted a long time and deserves to be remembered even longer.
NC: I'm the Nostalgia Critic. I remember it so you don't have to. (walks off)
Channel Awesome tagline – (creepy mannequin from The Ratings Game laughing)
(The credits roll)