How did Robert Downey Jr. settle the score with his old critics? ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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Robert Downey Jr.’s collaboration with Christopher Nolan in the latter’s Academy Award-winning WWII drama Oppenheimer proved largely successful, placing itself adjacent to the actor’s most iconic role to date — Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in the MCU. Turning into Lewis Strauss rightfully earned him a slew of recognitions and accolades, including the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor.
As the name spotlights, the Critics’ Choice Association comprises Hollywood’s most formidable critics, infamous for their professional sway so potent it could forge or fracture careers. Critics, in general, had long been perceived to bear hubris, pretentiousness, and an insatiable appetite, often rendering them faintly unpleasant, as evidenced by countless reviews that might have veered from critiquing into vilifying.
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And the Avengers actor was not about to let that pass unnoticed. When Black Panther alum Angela Bassett had handed her Marvel colleague the statue, Downey had been ready to settle the score. Out he sauntered with a note, far distinguishable from a mere litany of “Thank yous.” The Sherlock Holmes star, having endured critics’ pillory for far too long early in his career like almost every individual in Hollywood, resolved to call them out.
Downey began with a “haiku” line: “Sloppy, messy, and lazy.” On a peripheral note, the reception was laughs, applause, and skepticism, as the industry incredulously believed this to be a jest, yet our investigation has discovered otherwise. The mocking remark is indeed factual and was penned by Gene Siskel for the Chicago Tribune’s review of Johnny Be Good way back in 1988.
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Next came a metaphoric jab: “Like Pee-wee Herman emerging from a coma.” Though the crowd had chuckled at the absurdity, this barb had indeed surfaced, also in 1988, crafted by Michael Wilmington in the L.A. Times for Johnny Be Good. Evidently, Downey may have carried the baggage of their rudeness for nearly four decades.
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The actor’s redemption arc didn’t cease here, as he followed with a British-toned quip: “A puzzling waste of talent.” Laughter had rippled through, yet none had grasped its root. Film journalist Peter Rainer had wielded it in the Christian Science Monitor for The Soloist in 2009 to reprehend the actor’s performance.
Lastly, Downey delivered a lingering zinger: “Amusing as a bed-locked fart,” which we traced to Owen Gleiberman’s Entertainment Weekly piece on director Todd Phillips’ Due Date in 2010.
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And just like that, Robert Downey Jr. spun old scars into a trailblazing retort toward critics’ so-called authority, turning their own words against them. Facilitated by his signature wit, he proved that beneath their intellectual egos lies nothing more than recycled contempt.
