The Robert Downey Jr Film Guide
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Lethargy (2002)
Summary
A young New Yorker lives in black and white but dreams in color.
Director
David Gelb, Joshua Safdie
Downey Factor
Cameo.
Character
A nameless animal therapist who briefly encounters the main character at a park bench.
Looks
He's seen mostly in tight shots, wearing a winter jacket and a hat. Not bad. Kind of plain.
Performance
Brief, quirky without trying too hard.
Dies, Gay or Villain
No, no, no.
Cast
David Gelb, Edward Burns
Time & Place
Present day (2002), New York.
Gossip
This short film was made by two high schoolers, one of them had parents who were friends with Robert Downey Jr and Edward Burns, which is why they were in it. Nev Shulman of Catfish fame, also in high school at the time, was one of the three crew members on this.
Availability
It was briefly released online but is no longer available. It used to be posted on this page, but the director threatened me with a copyright claim in 2007.
Does It Hold Up
Does anyone's high school film project hold up 20+ years later? After this, the two guys who made it went to film school and went on eventually to make some pretty legit and well-respected movies. There were clearly reasons why at least one of them didn't want this one posted online any more.
2 Reasons to See It
1. It's only 7 minutes long, so not much of a time commitment.
2. This was shortly after he was 'fired' from Ally McBeal, and watching him slum it in this thing is a sharp reminder of how monumental his big comeback actually was.
Overall
To be honest, you're not missing much.
If You Like It
You might also like Eros (2005), Whatever We Do (2003), applying to film school
Photos
The Robert Downey Jr Film Guide