source: Sr.

If you are looking for some kind of lightweight, Entertainment Tonight type profile of Downey, this isn't your film. This is a warts and all documentary about Downey's life, the life of his filmmaker father and their relationship. It's quite informal and filled with all kinds of retakes, discussion of camera angles etc. They are both working on a film, during the course of this film. Downey comes across as very down to earth, happy and kind. His father who is in his eighties, is similarly nice. They seem to have a remarkable relationship and appear to be each other's best friends. I came away with a completely different opinion of Downey. My previous opinion of him was a function of some of the roles that he has had plus his struggles with drugs. In reality he is nothing like I thought he would be. He is a dramatically better human being. A thoroughly enjoyable film but probably a little informal and unfocused for some people. NOT a Hollywood film.

This is an intimately wonderful, moving film with poignantly raw honesty. I was unfamiliar with much of Robert Downey Sr.'s history and this documentary was surprising to me. It is a beautiful tribute and an almost embarrassing inside look at a family seeing time pass quickly and grasping onto a chance to reminisce and reflect. Downey Jr. Guides this effort with frank admissions and remarkable grace This a documentary, but it's stories within stories of entertainment history, a movie making family, the foibles of fathers and sons, and the end of a life unabashedly lived Watch this one. I was honestly very moved.

I liked it Thank God Sr. Shot it when he shot it. So much of New York the way it was It's a great way to not have to deal with the Executives in Hollywood. So much freedom to do what he wanted to do..I admire Sr. For that I think Robert wanted to capture dad's style in film making.to understand his own style.its a very raw Documentary about love.it must of been very healing for Jr.its almost like Fellini Bazaar Logical easy-going Dad it really brings me back thinking of my own parents wishing I filmed it Funny thing New Yorkers loved Sr.great way to grow up on the east coast.must have a open mind it's very funny.

A 2022 Netflix documentary detailing the sweet final weeks between actor Robert Downey Jr. & his iconoclastic writer/director father Robert Downey Sr. Culling copious film footage from his career, especially his anti-establishment calling card Putney Swope, Downey excelled at making films on his own terms w/the possibility of gaining a lucrative payday an accidental plus. Through a series of conversations between the two, sometimes over Skype & such (due to COVID restrictions), the father/son try to get to the heart of senior's style which sometimes bled over into his personal life (as his wife, young Robert & his sister were corralled into his productions) but as senior's physical deterioration (due to his battle w/Parkinson's disease) slows his movements & excursions to a crawl, the family makes their goodbyes & acknowledge the mistakes senior made along the way. Having only seen Swope just recently I can't assess senior's body of work but his working method clearly poured over to junior's fearless acting style (his Oscar nominated performance in 2008's Tropic Thunder, in black face no less, is said to have been a tribute to senior's dubbing over the black lead in Swope) probably did senior proud.

The life and times and work of maverick low budget movie director Robert Downey Sr would have been interesting without having to be so bound to his far more famous son, actor Robert Downey Jr., hence the title, Sr., because this is supposedly all about dad instead son... But there's just not enough of the titular auteur and too much of the superstar offspring playing with his kids (Sr's grandkids) and saying Jesus Christ or Jesus H. Christ in every way possible... it's like playing Scrabble with Billy Graham... It's nice that Jr wanted to showcase his cult movie-making dad for his own more mainstream Marvel fans... but you really don't get to know either Downey as they are both so breezy, offbeat, offhand and affably smug to showcase anything inside them to make this kind of anti-documentary (by American Movie director Chris Smith) really work... The bottom-line is, Sr needed a more sturdy and legit documentary-style experience into his own merits beyond playtime with famous son, and the way they mishmash the two styles... director bio and famous relatives hanging out... doesn't always work -- at least not like it should.

An adorable documentary sometimes funny, sad, very entertaining, and intrigues me to see more of Sr. Robert Downey's films. I love the weirdness and everything with Robert Downey Jr! Such a great film even with 3 hours sleep I'm shocked it wasn't part of the best documentary's in the Oscar's. Great how Sir Robert was trying to direct even though he was the star, such a magnificent finale of his career sad he died from Parkinson's disease almost 2 years ago. I recently watched some with my mom and happy to finish such a gem easily one of my favorite documentaries! Perfect weirdness mix of David Lynch, and M. Night Shyamalan they all have made odd movies.

In "Sr.", Robert Downey Jr. And Chris Smith present a unique and personal approach to a bio-doc about Robert Downey Sr., the filmmaker and father of the famous actor. Shot in black-and-white, the film captures the intimacy and complexity of their relationship, as well as Downey Sr.'s artistic process. The inclusion of alternate versions of certain scenes and discussions about the framing of others adds to the documentary's focus on the art of filmmaking. Despite some potential areas for deeper exploration, the emotional access given to Smith by the subjects and the power of finality as Downey Sr. Faces his own death make for a moving and thought-provoking viewing experience.

Wonderful...so much history and tender, truly funny moments. Such a real and joyful father/son and filmmaker/student portrait. RDJ made a movie about Dad, who's making a movie also about Dad and his pretty ok kid. I laughed so much- what a quirky, fun Dad he must have been. A truly inspiring film about it never being too late to cherish the ones you love. See it and prepare to fall for these two. You won't regret it. My review's too short, so... Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxooxxoxooxoxxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo.

A lot of people know who Robert Downey Jr is. Okay the whole world knows who he is. Bob is a movie star from those Marvel endeavors. The dude once commanded $75 million for one flick (remember Avengers: Endgame?). Sr (my latest review) is not about Robert Downey Jr. I mean it kind of is but that's a moot point. It's mainly about his father Robert Downey Sr. Sr is a guy who was not as much in the limelight, making low budget, independent films and appearing as an actor in stuff like Boogie Nights and/or To Live and Die in L. A. I've never seen a Robert Downey Sr-directed pic but Sr provides plenty of archive footage from his stuff via the late 60s and early 70s. Said archive footage counteracts with recent interviews that counteract with random scenes that are sort of playful cuts of the late subject (Sr of course). It's like a movie within a movie within a documentary, shot in black & white while harboring a somber and evocative tone. Sr is a docu that is told chronologically but feels non-linear at the same time. It's not perfect but there's a certain earthiness to it. I mean it feels more personal that most (of any type). You see Robert Downey Jr in a way you've never seen him before (it's like he's a regular Joe). You also get to know his dad and what an out of the box filmmaker he was, all satiric and radical and whatnot. I've always thought of their relationship as opposite sides of the pickle. Jr is well, blockbuster and his pops sort of a hidden, Woody Allen type. What's heartbreaking is that Sr ends up following the last years of Robert Downey Sr's life. It was filmed over a period of three showing the gradual decline of Sr's health due to Parkinson's disease. Thankfully through Sr we get to know this man and his visionary turns that stayed under the radar to most Hollywood annals. Senior day!