Good Morning, Vietnam
December. 23,1987 RA disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humour.
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Reviews
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
This movie has been on lists forever so I'm glad I finally watched it. In general I don't really think Robin Williams is as funny as everyone else does and talking fast/switching thoughts really fast doesn't really do it for me. That was the same here although there are some good lines for sure which is the same in all his for me, he's not bad just not my favorite comedian. I probably would have rated it worse but it turns into a good drama like halfway through the movie. I found that aspect far more compelling. Still, I liked it and was satisfied with the movie for sure. The guy was just there to make the war more bearable and that's what he did.
About 3 years ago, a true comic gem decided to leave us far earlier than we expected. He made us laughing so much we never imagine that behind that love for life, there was a much darker hidden side which ultimately took him from us. That man was Robin Williams.One of the characters he'll be always remembered for is without a doubt the radio host he incarnated in Good Morning Vietnam. This role was made for him as he could show his tremendous comic and acting talent. The fact that the scenes when he's hosting his radio show are all improvised is speaking volumes of the huge sense of imagination and comedy Robin has displayed throughout his career. But he can also show that he could be a very dramatic actor as well. The scene when he comes back to the radio station after witnessing the bar bombing is truly heartbreaking especially when you see him all alone completely down while the rest of the world keeps going on and the machines are getting frenzy.But it would be unfair to not cheer the rest of the cast who is supporting Robin so greatly especially Forrest Whittaker as Private Garlick, Tung Than Tran as Tuan, Bruno Kirby as Lt Hauk and J.T. Walsh as Sgt Major Dickerson.The latter is particularly distasteful as this very rigid Sergeant who is managing the radio station in Saigon. He's the true antagonist of the movie as he sees Adrian Cronauer as an uncontrollable burden and he's trying to get rid of him with any means necessary including sending Adrian on an assignment in an area controlled by the Viet-Cong.The late Bruno Kirby is bringing a second source of comic relief as this goofy lieutenant who is acting as Adrian direct supervisor boasting about his own comic genius which is in fact truly dreadful. There are some very memorable scenes he's a part of which are truly funny though.What I also like in this movie is they are not showing the Vietnamese people as the bad guys. They are displayed as a poor and rejected people with a true sense of friendship and humor willing to share the beauties of their culture to the Americans. The last scene when they are sharing a baseball game with Adrian before he goes back to Washington is truly moving.All of this is making this movie a gem and Robin Williams is bringing it among the stars. God bless your soul Robin.
different by majority from its genre, it is more a film of one actor than an anti-war movie. Robin Williams does a real great job . but his brilliant improvisation gives roots and force to a delicate subject from recent American history. because it reflects the small things who are ignored by large frescoes. who are insignificant in many artistic exorcism against a tragic political error. it is more than the small confrontation of a radio man. it is a realistic, subtle and precise portrait of Vietnam. reflected not only by the genius of words but by a love story, frustrations of a lieutenant, special friendship, human emotions and the absence of the enemy. a film about few ordinary people. maybe an early version of " Life is beautiful ". and the waterfall of the words, music, ironies remind the discover of truth by a jester. this could be the motif to see this film. again.
'Good Morning Vietnam', starring the late American comedian and movie mega-star, Robin Williams, is probably the most telling and memorable anti-war film made about the Vietnam war.I have mixed feelings about Williams as a comedian – I suppose I struggle a little with him in much the same way as Americans struggle with many British comics. He was undoubtedly a very gifted, genuinely funny man and when I succeeded in following his very fast repartee, I can laugh along with the best of them. But sometimes, his delivery is fast, and so 'American' that I just can't follow what he is saying, so most of his clever humour goes over my head. I do remember once watching him being interviewed on UK's Michael Parkinson chat show, some years ago and he was utterly hilarious and took the whole show over with his brilliant antics and 'one liners'. Maybe he slowed down his delivery a bit for us slow-witted Brits. He is also no slouch as a movie actor and has a string of successful hits to his name. I was never a great fan of Mrs. Doubtfire but I thought his performance in Dead Poets Society was truly inspirational.I like Williams a lot in Good Morning Vietnam and his wacky, spontaneous sense of humour was absolutely perfect for the role of the irreverent, entertaining DJ who was shipped over to Saigon to shake things up at the armed services radio station. The movie is based on the true experiences of a DJ who was sent there during the early days of the war, and he states that the story is about 40% accurate – but which 40%? Of course, we will never know. I still had problems with Williams' rapid-fire delivery and 'one-liners', when he was broadcasting 'on air' and sometimes I was lucky if I caught one joke in five of his deliveries. But that didn't matter, as he was in character and was playing the part of this crazy, funny DJ and I have no doubt that the GI's had no problems in understanding what he was saying.Interestingly, like The Deer Hunter, the entire Vietnam sequences (which are prevalent throughout the movie) were all shot in Thailand. I had not realized this until I read the closing credits, although I should have known something was amiss - the traffic was all driving on the left-hand side, whereas in Vietnam they drive on the right . The Deer Hunter did not really deal with the Vietnam war as such, but merely used the war as a background to show the effects the war had on a group of blue-collar workers from America's hinterland. 'Good Morning Vietnam' on the other hand, was clearly an anti-war, anti-military bullshit-bureaucracy, where tin-pot, ignorant, myopic officers abused the power they had over their fellow soldiers. We can make some allowances for a certain degree of dramatic licence in the interest of a good story. But even so, the background to the movie was totally believable and certainly provided an interesting insight into how seeds were being sown, which would eventually lead to America's greatest military disaster. When the Williams character arrived in Saigon in 1965, the conflict in Vietnam was regarded as a local little skirmish, but by the time he was thrown out of the country, it had already developed into a full-scale war, even though news of the daily bombings in Saigon by Viet Cong terrorists and the general war escalation was kept from the local radio airwaves.Ironically, along with many other milestones, the Vietnam War eventually became the first war where the world could watch the 'action' from the front lines as they ate their dinner at home every night. It was the first time that unimpeded access was granted to journalists and TV crews.'Good Morning Vietnam' is funny, entertaining, sad and thought- provoking in equal measures. Enough time has now passed for the viewer to resist the urge to become too judgmental about the 'villains' of the piece' – the US military; but nevertheless, it remains an interesting film which helps us to understand why America's 'Dunkirk' will probably remain part of their psyche for many years to come. If you haven't yet seen it, I recommend you give it a go.