Robins Williams was a real treasure, as a human being and as a stand-up comedian. 

But something he was great at was being versatile as an actor. He could slip into the comedic or serious role fairly easily. It also helps that he was always so likable whenever he was on screen. 

The first film in this Robin Williams retrospective is Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) directed by Barry Levinson. 

The film itself is inspired by the real life Vietnam war disc jockey, Adrian Cronauer (played by Williams), who famously played rock music over the station, and opened up his show by yelling “Good morning, Vietnam!” The movie takes this simple premise and spins into a film about a man, who’s famous for his shenanigans and hijinks realizing the horrors of war.

According to the real life Cronauer, only about 45 percent of the film’s events are true.

Good Morning, Vietnam is a dark comedy that doesn’t look away from the dark part of dark comedy. The film shows both sides of the conflict committing atrocities and taking innocent human lives, while also showing the humanity of both. 

Despite its dark nature, the film can be downright hilarious, whether it’s Williams ad libbing jokes while in the booth or his replacement, Lt. Steve Hauk (Bruno Kirby), trying to do what Cronauer did, and failing miserably. 

The film is as fondly remembered as it is because of Williams. He practically carries the film. Throughout the film, he runs the gamut of loud and hilarious to dramatic and depressed without it feeling clunky.

Thankfully the film isn’t just good because of Robin Williams. The film also has a large cast of talented actors in well written and memorable roles. 

One example is Edward Garlic (played by a young Forest Whitaker), the heart of the film and who’s always trying to keep Cronauer out of trouble. Another memorable role is Sgt. Major Dickerson (J.T. Walsh), the man in charge of the base Cronauer is stationed at and who has zero sense of humor.

And because it’s a Vietnam movie, the film is full of great music from the era being played over scenes of war. In one memorable section, Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” plays over horrific acts being performed by both sides. 

Despite this being a great film, it does have some flaws.

The humor heavily relies on references that most people knew back when it was made, but younger audiences today might not get. There’s also a scene where Dickerson deliberately tries to get Cronauer killed by the Vietcong, which seems a bit overboard and unrealistic because the worst Cronauer has done is say things he didn’t like while and make some jokes at his expense.

But despite its faults, Good Morning, Vietnam is still worth a watch, and is full of laughs and tears.

Moving on from film that covers the horrors of war we move on to a slightly less depressing film, Hook (1991) directed by Steven Spielberg, a fun family adventure film. 

The story is about an adult Peter Pan (Williams), who’s now going by Peter Banning, going back to Neverland in order to save his two children, Jackie (Charlie Korsmo) and Maggie (Amber Scott), who’ve been kidnapped by his old arch enemy Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman). Unfortunately, Peter has forgotten all about his life in Neverland and needs to retrain in order to fly and regain his skills when he was younger.

The film is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, it’s full of really good concepts and characters. On the other hand, the film has a problem moving from one tone to another in a seamless fashion. 

Starting with the good first, the makeup, costumes, and set design are very well done and full of little details. A good example is the lost boys. If one is paying attention, you can tell that the boys are from different eras. 

For example, Rufio (Dante Basco), the new leader of the lost boys, is clearly from the ‘80s, with the mohawk and punk look to his aesthetic. To contrast this, many of the other other lost boys are wearing clothing from the ‘50s and ‘60s.

The film is also pretty funny, much of that  being owed to Williams and to the writing, producing a number of funny scenes in the film.

A good example is when Rufio wants to kill Peter at first, because all adults are pirates, and they kill pirates. Peter retorts that he’s not a pirate, he’s a lawyer. With all the kids immediately saying in response “Kill the lawyer.”

Captain Hook and Smee (played by the late Bob Hoskins) are not exactly the deepest villains, but you can tell that both actors are having the time of their lives as these characters, completely hamming it up for the camera, and being a lot of fun.

But despite all the goodwill the first two acts build up, the third act completely drops the ball. 

Before the third act, the movie was an adventure film, but it still had jokes and concepts that the adults could find entertaining. The third act however, goes all in on slapstick comedy and childish jokes. 

The film also doesn’t do a great job with Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts). She’s too kind to be the jealous and snarky Tinkerbell we all know and love.

Despite it stumbling near the end, Hook is fun family fare that’s still worth a watch if one is curious.

The final film we will look at is Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) directed by Chris Columbus. 

Daniel (Williams) and Miranda Hillard (Sally Field) are a recently divorced couple. However because Miranda has a more steady job and a house, she keeps the kids, while Daniel can only visit them once every Friday. To spend more time with his children, he dresses up as the family’s new housekeeper, Mrs. Doubtfire. 

Starting right off, the film is very funny, with Williams having great comedic timing and having the perfect reactions to some of the situations he’s put in, in order to keep his secret.

Like when he’s supposed to go to dinner at the same restaurant at the same time as both Daniel and Doubtfire, we see all the crazy hoops he has to jump through in order to try not to raise suspicion. 

Something that’s very praiseworthy and something you don’t see in a lot of movies, even today, is handling the divorce in a mature manner. 

Forgive the spoiler, but by the end of the film Daniel and Miranda don’t end up back together. Instead they come to an arrangement with the kids that both parties are happy with. 

Another example is Miranda’s new boyfriend, Stu (Pierce Brosnan). In most films about divorces,  the new boyfriend is usually a huge jerk in order to show how either the female lead was actually better off with her ex, or how the new boyfriend needs to change to be a better person. But in the film, Stu is actually a pretty good guy from the start, despite coming off a bit strong at first. He deeply cares for Miranda and genuinely wants the best for both her and her kids.  

Despite being a classic with both great humor and heart, not every factor has aged very well. Some jokes wouldn’t fly in today’s entertainment world and could quite possibly seriously offend someone. 

The film also isn’t above using stereotypes, for instance Daniel’s brother, Frank (Harvey Fierstein), is every gay stereotype wrapped into one. 

But despite factors of the film aging about a milk left out on a hot summer’s day, I don’t hold it against it as much, as it was just the time it was made, and the stereotypes are mostly harmless. 

Mrs. Doubtfire is a fun family film that people of any age can enjoy, with a surprisingly adult message.

Robin Williams was taken from us too soon and if his stand-up work doesn’t prove it, his filmography does. 

Patrick Pugh reviews films for the Thunderword.