by Marlin Bressi

Created on: January 22, 2009   Last Updated: March 31, 2009

Hollywood is truly a magical place. Only in Hollywood can the down-and-out and all-but-forgotten make comebacks which put them back on the A-list. Without a doubt, 2008's biggest comeback was Robert Downey, Jr. A once-promising actor who in recent years became better known for his drug addictions than movie roles, Downey found redemption at the box office in 2008 for two hit movies: Iron Man and Tropic Thunder.

In Iron Man, Downey portrayed a superhero, a casting decision which left many of us scratching our heads. Most of us would have been less surprised to see Lindsey Lohan portraying Mother Theresa on the big screen. Downey managed to turn in a terrific performance as a comic-book superhero, but perhaps his best work as an actor to date was his role in Tropic Thunder. Tropic Thunder, a low-brow Jerry Stiller comedic vehicle, would have been a mere blip on the radar screen had it not been for Downey's uproarious performance of Kirk Lazarus, a B-list white actor with an identity crisis who dons blackface to play the role of a black man. Downey's performance gave rise to the most-quoted movie line from 2008, as his character proclaims: "I know who I am! I'm the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude!"

Some comebacks are the result of hard work, while other comebacks are the result of being in the right place at the right time. Such was the case for the weekly late-night staple Saturday Night Live. The sketch comedy series which gave us the likes of Belushi, Murray, and Farley hasn't turned out a legitimate comedic talent since Will Ferrell. Ratings had plummeted over recent years, thanks to lackluster writing and casting. However, thanks to Tina Fey's dead-on portrayal of Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, the series experienced a ratings rebound.

Another star to experience a comeback in 2008 was Christian Slater. The former 80's teen heartthrob found new success by landing the starring role in the short-lived NBC series "My Own Worst Enemy". Even though the show was cancelled after only one season, everyone was impressed by Slater's performance. Despite the show's failure, it helped to resurrect Slater's career, which had been on life support since the early 90's.

Perhaps the two most anticipated comebacks occurred in the world of music. 2008 marked the reunion of 80's boy band icons New Kids on the Block. NKOTB's first studio album in fourteen years "The Block" became a hit not because of the music, but for the group's ability to make us all nostalgic for the past. Unfortunately, "Chinese Democracy", the long-awaited Guns-N-Roses album, was critically panned and soon forgotten.

Will any of the aforementioned stars find continued success in 2009? Only time will tell. Celebrity comebacks happen every year, but if history has taught us anything, it is that most comebacks are short-lived. Very rarely do celebrity comebacks result in long-term success. After all, stars who are on top of their game have no need to make a comeback, since the light of their fame never seems to go away.

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