It's been 25 years since Robin Williams starred in GOOD MORNING VIETNAM just being released on blu-ray. The movie was based on the life of Adrian Cronauer, an Air Force officer who changed the way the military ran radio during the Vietnam War. At least that's what I think most of us thought the movie was about. But it turns out to be more about a comedian run wild in a starring role than about what happened in Vietnam.
Williams stars as Cronauer, in this case an officer hand picked by Gen. Taylor (Noble Willingham) to bring his humor to the approved radio station the military runs for the troops. To date that station has had flat sounding DJs who play nothing more exciting than a polka. Cronauer changes that by playing rock and roll, the music that most of the soldier in the field listened to before they were brought to this country.
This runs counter to the man in charge, Sgt. Major Dickinson (J.T.Walsh) and his right hand man Lt. Hauk (Bruno Kirby). They see no problems with the way things have been and so take offense to the new guy. But with the General backing him, Cronauer's personality runs wild on the air and he breathes fresh air into the style and content of the show he does. It also infects the other on air talent and makes them step up their game as well.
As he gets used to his new situation Cronauer is aided by Edward Garlick (Forest Whitaker). Garlick advises him of the way things are run, how to get around things on occasion and introduces him to the locals, the females of which are of particular interest to Cronauer. One in particular strikes his fancy and in an attempt to woo her, he takes over a class being taught to the locals on how to speak English. This leads to his meeting the young woman's brother and her family.
The back and forth between enlisted talent and military officials continues. Cronauer has little or no idea of what is actually happening or how popular he's become. But he gets a wake up call when the local bar is bombed by members of the Vietcong. He sees the devastation and realizes that there is a war going on. This change in observation affects Cronauer in such a way that he reads a news brief uncensored for once on the air causing another major rift with the powers that be.
The movie presented to us shows a man who took matters into his own hands and stood for what he believed. It also shows a spastic comedic presence on the air that eventually saw the good he was doing. But the fact is that when you take the time to watch the extras included on this disc you realize the whole character of Adrian Cronauer is less Adrian and more Robin Williams and that's always been one of my biggest problems when watching Williams act.
Catch phrases and bits and pieces of his stand up routines always find a way into the roles he plays unless he has a director that takes hold of him and actually directs his talent which he has in abundance. But left unchecked and unharnessed Williams spastic interpretations of characters seem less like a person being portrayed and more like, well Williams performing as a comedian. Suddenly the story of Adrian Cronauer (though one would assume he was well paid for his story) is less what this is about and more about Williams being himself.
In those extras director Barry Levinson says that the amount of time showing Williams on air antics amounts to less than 14 minutes. But those 14 minutes are the most alive in the film and were used in the advertising campaigns when the film came out to the point where that's the parts you remember. But there are many other times in the film that it feels more Robin and less Adrian.
This was the first time I'd watched this film since seeing it 25 years ago. While it is still an enjoyable film it continues to grate on me that it seems more stand up than biopic. Williams has the ability to be a dynamic actor. To this day I felt that he deserved an Oscar for his performance in THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP. But when he's turned lose and allowed to use his stand up in a role that doesn't need it, it distracts rather than enhances. The movie is worth watching to see a developing talent and an interesting story but I for one would have liked to see something more about the real Adrian Cronauer and less about Robin Williams.
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