Vietnam without a doubt was a dark period in our history.Any comedy film surrounding Vietnam would indeed have to be done delicately.This movie pulls it off.What amazes me most about the film is the flawless, improvisational radio dialog from Robin Williams.This,as most of you may know,was completely unscripted to allow Williams an opportunity to work his magic.Also,it had to be timely,for the movie is,of course,set in 1965.The fact that he was able to do this is nothing short of amazing.The supporting cast was also incredible,with great performances by Forrest Whitaker,Bruno Kirby,and the late J.T.Walsh as "Sergeant Major Dickerson",the man you love to hate.Although some of the horror that was Vietnam is here,it's only giving you a taste of it,as it concentrates more on the Williams character's quest to make our beloved soldiers forget their horror,at least for a while.Highly recommended.
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SmileysWorld15 March 2002
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Bing-186 May 1999There never has been, and probably never will be, another film which shows both sides of Williams to such a great degree.
As the wise-cracking disc-jockey, Williams shows his undisputed wild comedic talent, but the bomb scene and scenes of rural Vietnam life, truly allow Williams to such his dramatic acting ability. They look at the conflict, without getting in too deep.
A superb cast as well including Bruno Kirby and the late great J.T. Walsh gives a solid backdrop, and are beautiful foils to Williams.
Overall, a wonderful movie, add it to your collection. -
secondtake13 September 2014Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
A lighthearted but deadly serious anti-war film, actually. This is of course a Robin Williams movie so that it is his schtick, brilliant and inspired, that makes it soar. The best of it, including the famous riff when he first gets on the air as the new Saigon DJ, is hilarious and breathtaking. There is a plot, sort of, as he goes through a rise and fall at the military radio station, but it's more about his shining moments behind the microphone than anything else.
The "else" in this movie is, however, most of the movie. That is, Williams has a serious role as an offbeat renegade in a chaotic world surrounded by a range of sensible and very insensible officers and colleagues. At the most extreme, when we see a Vietnamese village firebombed while Louis Armstrong sings "It's a Wonderful World," the sentiment is so cloying it makes you cry, and you're not sure why because you know it's just over the top manipulation. Likewise when Williams is caught in a traffic jam with other military vehicles and he warms up the soldiers by humanizing everyone and making them feel like they really should be back home. Which they should be, as we know in retrospect.
So the movie has another side that's kind of sentimental and simplistic, whatever its good pacifist intentions. Williams is a decent actor—I'm not one of those who thinks he's brilliant outside of his funny roles—and so it holds up pretty well. But the plot line keeps the movie from really finding pathos, or comedy, or warmth, or tragedy of a dramatic kind, in the scenes outside the radio station. And I think that's what it intended.
For those who don't know, it's worth adding that the main character, Adrian Cronauer, was a real person, and still is—he's a staunch Republican (Williams was not, to be sure) and an innovator in radio in Vietnam. He also co-wrote the screenplay, I assume working on the scenes that he would know best rather than the larger saccharine plot aspects. A great story, and the real Cronauer deserves credit for inspiring it, and helping it along. He was, along with most of us, "Godsmacked" when he heard the news of Williams's death. -
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews29 October 2005Let me be perfectly frank and say right away that I watched this to experience Robin Williams at his best. That guy has so much comedic talent, it's unreal. I mostly got what I expected from this movie... but I found that it also contained some truths about the Vietnam war. The movie has plenty to offer on both fronts. Any fan of Williams' comedy will definitely enjoy it, and I think most war-movie buffs will too... if they can keep an open mind, and accept a slightly different approach to the genre. The way the seriousness of war is underplayed for most of the film really works to enhance the effect of it when it is shoved right in our faces, when we are forced to acknowledge it. We forget how serious and all-consuming war is, just like Adrian had(not necessarily the real one, I know nothing of him except of what the film told me, and as far as I understand, that's not that accurate a portrayal of him), only to be confronted with it. More effective than several big war movies. The plot is very good. The pacing is great, the movie keeps moving pretty much all through the film. The characters are well-written and credible. The acting is good pretty much all-round, and Williams proves once again that he can do drama just as well as comedy. The humor is typical Robin Williams. A very good film, and an unusual war movie. I recommend this to fans of Robin Williams and war movies. 7/10
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I just sat through a DVD of this movie,the second(?)time I'd seen this film. The last time I could recall seeing this,it was on pay-per-view television in a hotel(the Red Lion I think it was) room,August of 1988,so my memories of this film could use a refreshing. I'm glad I got refreshed.
In 1965,Airman Adrian Cronauer(Robin Williams,in the first of his four Academy Award nominations)is brought on to do an Armed Forces Radio stint in Vietnam. Behind the microphone,Cronauer lets loose,much to the surprise and delight of many of the troops and servicemen around the area of combat. His combination of off-the-wall humor,impressions,sound gags and quick wit,mixed with his love of free-wheeling Rock music of the era,is pretty much welcomed in the area,save for a few angry sorts: a Napoleon-complexed intermediate CO named Hauk(Bruno Kirby,unrecognizable but for the voice) and a stiff-lipped,quietly vindictive middle commander named Dickerson(J.T.Walsh,so good here it would seem like this typecast him). As this is going on,Cronauer becomes smitten with a local girl(Chinatra Sukapatra,spelling?)and befriends her brother(Tung Thanh Tran),which leads the popular DJ down a road of self-discovery.
With excellent support from Forrest Whitaker(one of my favorites!he ends up sort of counter-balancing Williams' manic frenzy with nerdish normalcy as his buddy/assistant/guide),Richard Edson,Noble Winnigham,Robert Wuhl and Cu Ba Nguyen(as the oily GI bar proprietor)among others,this film,directed by Barry Levinson(whose work hasn't been this good in what feels like forever,certainly not since Avalon or Rain Man) and written by Mitch Markowitz,it is arguable one of the deftest films to create and maintain a balance between the horrors and inhumanity of war and the humor and pathos that are very much present in it. Robin Williams' fans may get much more out of this that those who aren't,but I think even many of those who don't consider themselves fanciers of his talents should be able to appreciate this. The images were powerful enough that they stuck with me some after the first time I saw GMV and after a second time I feel like can appreciate even more out of this movie. -
zkonedog9 September 2020Despite being a fan of Robin Williams' unique brand of scattershot, stream-of-consciousness comedy, I had never seen "Good Morning, Vietnam" all the way through. While I am glad to have finally checked that off my watch list, I do have to say that it underwhelmed me a bit, especially when it comes to any historical or cultural significance outside of its leading man.
For a very basic overview, "Good Morning, Vietnam" tells the story of Adrian Cronauer (Williams), an Army Radio DJ assigned to a Vietnam station in 1965. While his non-conformist attitude ruffles the feathers of the higher-ups--especially Lt. Hauk (Bruno Kirby)--he quickly inspires fellow soldiers in every corner of the conflict.
There is absolutely no doubt or denying that "Good Morning, Vietnam" sees Williams at perhaps the peak of his comedic zenith. Every single scene of him DJ-ing the station will have you laughing out loud. His fast-talking, reference-alluding style is so unique that it's sort of a one-of-a-kind experience. Personally, I very much consider this entire film to be little more than a showcase for his talents.
Which leads me to the unfortunate part of this experience for me: aside from Williams, I really didn't get much else out of "Good Morning, Vietnam". While it is pretty clear what the writers and director Barry Levinson are trying to accomplish character-wise, it all seems a bit cloying, predictable, and sometimes even a bit cartoonish. The Army is inflexible, Williams is the fly in the ointment, and we all bemoan the pointlessness of the whole ordeal. Maybe this all hit a little closer to home in 1987, but watching in 2020 it felt a bit overcooked in terms of stereotypes.
Overall, though, the sheer presence of Williams makes this a very watchable film, albeit perhaps a bit overrated from a historical perspective. Come for Williams, but your mileage may vary regarding the other material here. -
It finally hit me when I watched Good Morning Vietnam what this film reminded me of. It was the famous Preston Sturges classic, Sullivan's Travels which coincidentally as it turns out is one of my favorite films.
Both the real life Adrian Cronauer and Joel McCrea's fictional John L. Sullivan have to come to the same realization, that what they do matters a great deal. In Sullivan's Travels it's to the movie going public in general, in the case of Cronauer it's to the GIs in Vietnam stuck in a war where no one could ever know who the enemy was. A few laughs from a comic genius was necessary to get them through the day in their very cockeyed world.
Adrian Cronauer was a real life person, but if he didn't bear a resemblance to Robin Williams, he should have. One of the great comic masters of any era in entertainment, Robin Williams is given full range for his zany sense of humor to work its magic with Cronauer. He's ably abetted and assisted by the other staff members of Armed Forces Radio Forest Whitaker and Robert Wuhl. Bruno Kirby is great as the clueless lieutenant in charge and so is J.T. Walsh who represents the limits of the military mind as the sergeant major out to get Williams by hook or very dirty crook.
Williams himself doesn't understand the complexities of the Vietnam situation. That fact is brought home to him graphically when he's betrayed by his own innate decency.
Next to Williams my favorite in the cast is Noble Willingham who plays the general who has overall charge of Armed Forces Radio there. He's a tough, but compassionate military man, the exact opposite of J.T. Walsh whom he has to reign in.
Good Morning Vietnam is a frank portrayal of a war experience told with humor and irony through the eyes of Robin Williams.
Preston Sturges would have absolutely adored this film. -
kinoreview23 August 2014There's a great Family Guy cutaway gag in which Peter Griffin and Robin Williams sit on a sofa as Peter names topics such as religion and politics for Williams to comment on. Williams does so with his trademark brand of insufferable overbearing comedy, which is filling any amount of time with frenetically incessant rambling. Peter responds simply with an exasperated sigh before leaving for a five minute break, which prompts Williams to start yet another barrage of supposedly funny noises. I felt much like Peter Griffin whilst watching Good Morning Vietnam. It reaffirmed my opinion that Williams was not the 'tragicomic genius' that so many purported him to be.
Read a short synopsis of Vietnam and you'll know exactly what it's all about: the lovable family favourite Robin Williams being kooky, charming the troops but clashing with straight-laced, humourless authority figures. It's completely predictable and completely trite. They also throw in a love interest for good measure in the form of Trinh (Chintara Sukapatana), a wholly lifeless woman whom Williams refuses to stop pestering.
Williams is never funny during his radio broadcasts, however the film repeatedly tells us otherwise, showing us scores of characters struggling to hold back their tears of laughter. So many of the supporting actors, whether they're random troops or studio operators, were just diegetic canned laughter rather than proper characters.
Make no mistake, Robin Williams isn't playing Adrian Cronauer, he's playing Robin Williams at his most loud and rambling. Williams is repeatedly characterised as the lovable clown who brings the people together, it's rather nauseating; no matter how hard the film tries, it cannot convince me that he's either funny or charming, only very irritating. Despite this, there are some moments that raised a smile, such as the language class scenes in which he focuses on New York City street talk rather than the artificial, staid sentences of the textbooks.
Williams's flatly developed adversaries Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) and Sgt. Major Dickinson (J. T. Walsh) are the typical officious military men, they develop a resentment towards him that's so instantaneous that it's contrived and unbelievable; they're just narrative functions that try and make you feel sorry for Williams the lovable crazy cookie.
It sometimes attempts to be a drama or 'dramedy' with moments of perfunctory war moralising, but ultimately Good Morning, Vietnam is preoccupied with indulging Williams's penchant for shouting incessantly rather than achieving anything approaching credible commentary or pathos. -
jboothmillard7 September 2005I saw the clip of the leading actor shouting the catchphrase title, and eventually watched it during my time at college, and I'm glad I got see it again to get a proper opinion, directed by Barry Levinson (Diner, The Natural, Rain Man, The Bay). Basically, set in 1965 during the Vietnam War, Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer (Golden Globe winning, Oscar and BAFTA nominated Robin Williams) arrives in Saigon to work as a DJ for Armed Forces Radio Service. Private Edward Garlick (Forest Whitaker) takes him to the radio station and is introduced to Second Lieutenant Steven Hauk (Bruce Kirby) and Sergeant Major Phillip Dickerson (J.T. Walsh). Cronauer's show, which opens with his catchphrase "Good morning, Vietnam!" consists of reading strictly censored news and irreverent humour segments mixed with rock and roll music, which is frowned upon by his superiors. Hauk adheres to strict Army guidelines and Dickerson is generally abusive to all men. But Cronauer and his show become very popular with the troops, Brigadier General Taylor (Noble Willingham) and his fellow DJs, including Sergeant Marty Lee Dreiwitz (Batman's Robert Wuhl). Whilst exploring the streets, Cronauer is infatuated with a Vietnamese girl named Trinh who attends an English class. He tries to talk to her but is confronted by her brother Tuan (Tung Thanh Tran). Croneaur tries instead to befriend him, only for two soldiers to get into a brawl with him. One afternoon, while relaxing in Jimmy Wah's, a local GI bar, Croneaur steps outside, two soldeiers are killed and he is shaken after the building explodes, caused by a bomb. Dickerson censors the news, but Croneaur locks himself in the studio and reports it anyway, outraging Dickerson. Dickerson cuts off the broadcast and Cronauer is suspended, to the delight of Hauk and Dickerson. Hauk takes over the show, but his bad humour and choices of music are unpopular and many letters and phone calls come demanding that Croneaur is reinstated. Feeling down, Cronauer spends his time drinking and pursuing Trinh. At the radio station, Taylor intervenes, ordering Hauk to reinstate Cronauer, but he refuses to go back to work. Garlick and Cronauer's vehicle is stopped by congestion caused by a convoy of soldiers. Garlick persuades Cronauer to do an impromptu "broadcast" before the troops are due to fight in Nha Trang. The soldiers appreciation reminds Cronauer why the job is important, and he returns to work. Dickerson seizes an opportunity to permanently rid himself of Cronauer by approving his request to interview soldiers in the field. Whilst travelling, Cronauer and Garlick's Jeep hits a mine, and they are forced to hide from Viet Cong patrols. In Saigon, Tuan realises Cronauer did not show up at the English class and steals a van to go after them. After finding Cronauer and Garlick, the van breaks down and they manage to board a helicopter to take them back to the city. Back at the base, Dickerson tells Cronauer that he is off the air for good after Tuan is revealed as a VC operative and is responsible for the bombing. Dickerson has arranged for Cronauer's honourable discharge, and General Taylor is unable to help him as his friendship with Tuan could damage the reputation of the US Army. After Cronauer leaves, Taylor informs Dickerson that he is being transferred to Guam, citing his vindictive attitude as the reason. Cronauer chases down Tuan, who explains that his actions against the Americas were retaliation against the U.S. army devastating his hometown, resulting in the deaths of family and friends. Before disappearing back into the jungle, Tuan reminds Cronauer that he did save his life despite this, implying that their friendship was true. On his way to the airport with Garlick and MP escort, Cronauer visits the English class for a quick softball game, with the MPs joining in, and says goodbye to Trinh. He gives Garlick a taped farewell message and boards the plane to take him back home to Queens. Garlick takes Cronauer's place as DJ, and plays the tape on air the next morning, which opens with Cronauer saying "Goodbye, Vietnam!" Williams gives a terrific performance that suits his rapid-fire improvisational stand-up comedy style perfectly, including funny voices and impressions. It is based on a true story, it is funny at the right moments, it has a good soundtrack of 1960s music, especially the clever use of juxtaposition, using the happy song "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong during the explosions and tragedy of the war, and it is serious and dramatic when it needs to be, it is a worthwhile black comedy war drama. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Sound. Robin Williams was number 19 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars, the film was number 31 on The 100 Greatest War Films, and it was number 100 on 100 Years, 100 Laughs. Good!
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SnoopyStyle12 November 2013Director Barry Levinson takes a more comedic take on the Vietnam war like other great war comedies such as MASH. Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) is the new DJ in a stiff Armed Forces Radio. Edward Garlick (Forest Whitaker) is his best friend and Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) is the humorless superior. Adrian's life gets more complicated as he falls for a Vietnamese girl and befriends her brother.
Robin Williams is doing his crazed manic persona. He lets his mouth run wild. Some of it work great. Some of the humor is era sensitive. How funny is a Lady Bird Johnson joke today? But how funny was it back in the 80s? Luckily, there is a story behind the crazy wise-cracking Robin Williams rants. The story works well with a good performance from the Vietnamese brother played by Tung Thanh Tran. But it is all Robin Williams and he shows that maybe he could be a great actor for the first time. -
RatedVforVinny13 January 2020Robbin Williams gives the performance of his life, in this funny, yet politically motivated movie, on the no (official) news or miss-information given out (to the troops) at the time of the most controversial conflict of the modern era. A strong supporting cast, including a young Forrest Whitaker are a bonus but the overall story is a bit thin and the love interest (for me) is not fully developed.
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Movie-1214 November 2000GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM / (1987) ***1/2 (out of four)
By Blake French:
Robin Williams is about as good as they come at doing stand up comedy, and in "Good Morning, Vietnam" director Berry Levinson gives him everything he needs to make the film go above and beyond the average satire. From his outgoing sense of humor, to his aggressive personality, and dozens of vocal effects, he portrays his character with interactive zest. Who can resist the awakening voice of Williams on the radio yelling "Good Morning Vietnam." This is a film that conquers the test of time.
"Good Morning, Vietnam" tells the story of a lively disc jockey who gets a job on Armed Forced Radio during the Vietnam War. Robin Williams is the fast-talking Adrian Cronauer, and who better to play the part than he. Although this character is one-dimensional (we are never informed on his background, marital status, where he comes from, what he did before we meet), as the movie continues he gradually begins to change into a deeper, more meaningful person.
The story moves along smoothly; the narrative through-line is consistent as each scene relates to the next. Although little momentum or suspense can be noticed, the film does have several underlining themes, often viewed upon in a Stanley Kubrick style: sarcastic and uncompromising. We see how much a little humor and jazz can greatly enlighten the hard-core atmosphere of the military during Vietnam, and how it can thoroughly confuse the bleeding heart officials.
The film hangs by the skin of its teeth for active conflict tension. Beyond people objecting to the actions of Williams' character, there is just not a lot of tension within the story, and at some points my interest wandered. "Good Morning, Vietnam" is merely a portrait of Robin Williams releasing his perennial comedy, and unfortunately that does happen to get old quite quickly; the majority of an audience can only watch the humor for so long until it becomes old and somewhat stale.
"Good Morning, Vietnam" is definitely not a flawless film, but we do empathize for the main character, the scenes effectively capture the attitude and mood during the war, and the dialogue and writing feel accurate and involving. Barry Levinson has directed a marvelous comedy, one that is not all about making us laugh, but also makes us think. -
Joe194025 February 2016Let me begin with the fact that I believe that this is a good movie. The soundtrack is fitting, the cinematography is generally well done, and the script, for the most part, is believable and well thought out. There are, however, some issues that take me out of my immersion in the movie. For example, the speech given by Tuan at the end of the movie was cheesy and forced. This is where I see that the movie understands what it is. The movie points out the needless presence of the military in Vietnam and that's the point of the move. Between the constant censorship and the multiple references to the distrust between the Americans and Vietnamese, the movie plainly shows the message that the Vietnam war was pointless and hurt relations with Vietnam. This does set up one great scene that I feel was the best in the movie. The montage of Tuan's friends getting captured and shot while Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonder World" was a beautifully shot scene that perfectly summed up what the director wanted to show.
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PurpleProseOfCairo25 June 2021Teeth-grindingly annoying. Williams being Williams - if you like that, first of all my sympathies, secondly, you'll love it. He spouts inanities in machine-gun fashion, as Williams is wont to do, failing even once to be funny, but what's this... everyone else on screen is falling about laughing at him! This means it must be funny, and I just don't get it! A patronising, irritating toothache of a movie.
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Prismark101 August 2013Robin Williams found fame on television with Mork & Mindy but his early foray into movies was hit and miss.
Williams had yet to have a vehicle where his brand of humour can go at full flow. Good Morning Vietnam was it. The story is loosely based on the experiences of Armed Forces Radio DJ Adrian Cronauer.
By playing the DJ, Williams could free-wheel it on the mic, provide laughs and annoy the authorities in this case Bruno Kirby who certainly does not get his humour. He and JT Walsh conspire to get him off the air. These two certainly did not want soldiers to be happy.
As the story progresses you get some drama, but it's not quite the horrors of the Vietnam war in the way films such as Platoon would show it.
After all this is still a comedy and the drama is secondary.
This was Williams movie where he could be anarchic. It started a run of performances in comedy and drama that rewarded him with an Oscar a decade later. -
lee_eisenberg12 January 2006"Good Morning, Vietnam" is truly Robin Williams at his best. As anarchic DJ Adrian Cronauer in 1965 Saigon, he makes sure that you never stop laughing. I really liked what he did with the tape of Richard Nixon's speech, and then his comment about the bombing of a restaurant. Most amazing is that he ad-libbed the whole thing (but hey, that's Robin Williams). Maybe Cronauer wasn't that wacky in real life, but every one of Williams' comments makes the movie worthwhile. The soundtrack even includes his monologues (you'll go crazy over the imitation of Lyndon Johnson, and the commentary from "Roosevelt E. Roosevelt"). A comedy classic in every sense.
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ma-cortes9 January 2012An unorthodox DJ begins to shake up things when he is assigned to the US Armed Services Radio station in Vietnam ; it is based on real life Adrian Cronauer . An impulsive new Disc Jockey named Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams), on whom story was based , is shipped from Crete to Vietnam to bring humor to Armed Forces Radio. The irreverent radio man turns the studio on its ear and becomes wildly popular with the soldiers , realizing uproarious monologues but runs afoul of the middle management (J.T. Walsh , Bruno Kirby ,Robert Wuhl) who think he isn't G.I. enough . D J brings rock 'n' roll to troops during that period when the Vietnam War matured from its origins into a full-blown war as he briefly ruled Saigon's Armed Forces Radio in 1965 . While Adrian is off the air accompanied by his aide-de-camp (Forest Whitaker) attempts to meet Vietnamese especially women , and results to have brushes with the actual war that never appears on the radio.
It's a stunning and absorbing story that is based on real events and historical deeds . The storyline tackles issues of ethics and morality and the horror war . The movie in spite of the passed time is still powerful and astounding. The film is a Robin Williams recital as he realizes a splendid portrayal of a frantic disc jockey as he plays , sings , stooges, tongue twister and pulls faces and grimaces . It's a farce with the master comic pretty amusing and with several wonderful songs from the 60s . Robin copped a first rate acting , achieved a lot of success and a well-earned nomination for best main actor . Williams' improvisational manic monologues are the spotlights and carry the film in an interesting story which meanders too much . Ideal main cast is completed by phenomenal secondary actors as J.T. Walsh , Robert Wuhl, Noble Willingham and also shines Bruno Kirby as jealous superior. Marvelous musical score by the classic Alex North -Cleopatra,Spartacus- , including relevant musical interludes . Coloristic cinematography by Peter Sova , the outdoors filmed in Thailand are spellbound and breathtaking . The motion picture is compellingly directed by Barry Levinson -Sleepers, Bugsy, Avalon- .
This is a highly amusing and frequently funny War/drama/comedy romp with a witty script specifically aimed an adult audience . Picture is a vehicle Robin Williams , he's the whole show , he's an outrageous comic and real Farceur. If you like Robin's crazy interpretation , you will most definitely enjoy this one . Well worth watching for enjoyable performances from main cast as well as the warfare buffs who also will like it . Rating : Very good , worthwhile watching and better than average . -
Made at a time when films on the Vietnam war were being produced by America at a healthy rate, Good Morning, Vietnam comes across as the sort that falls into both 'types' that were being produced at the time. Platoon got under the skin of Vietnam, telling the events from an individual's perspective through voiceovers without relying on a lot of causality, rather the everyday tasks and events that occur. Full Metal Jacket was an interesting beast in the sense most of its more intense scenes didn't actually happen in Vietnam but rather at home on the training ground. But both were in a sensible tradition and took attention away from the Reaganism inspired 'action' films that were Rambo: First Blood Part II and the like.
Good Morning, Vietnam falls into both these sorts of Vietnam war films. On one hand it is a serious film about the war and deals with serious issues such as morale and how dangerous conflict with the enemy actually is without doing what Rambo did by turning the war genre into a sub-division of the action genre. At one point in the film, DJ and lead character of the film Adrian Cronauer (Williams) finds himself in a hostile area out in the jungle and you do feel the shift in atmosphere the film briefly moves into in the sense this guy is not a soldier but he is in a dangerous position and he isn't equipped with how to get through it. There is another scene in which a street side bomb goes off and Adrian is caught up in the middle of it, further reminding us of the war zone and cleverly shifting the aura.
But the film does fall into the genre of comedy and while it does so, it never distracts us from the fact this is taking place during a war unlike First Blood: Part II which could really have been an action film set amongst any backdrop. Good Morning, Vietnam does not ignore its comedy roots either and gives us genuinely entertaining disc jockey rants from Williams who shines with his animation and ad-libbing, further reminding us of a later film of his, Aladdin, and how he really was the star of that piece.
The best parts of Good Morning, Vietnam actually raise issues to do with oppositional reading. As a character, Adrian is one of those charismatic individuals who is perhaps more focused on entertaining his audience first but when repercussions to do with that want to entertain arise, it is an oppositional reading to something that seems innocent enough. There are a couple of scenes and incidences that deal with this theme of oppositional reading. One that springs to mind takes place in a bar in which Adrian has brought a Vietnamese friend whom he teaches in an English class. The trouble is, it's a G.I. bar and certain soldiers have an issue with the Vietnamese person being there. It is Adrian's carefree and relaxed attitude to letting the individual come with him to the bar that has upset certain others around him, resulting in an oppositional opinion on whether the Vietnamese person should be allowed there. One says he can, others say he can't and conflict erupts.
This battle is constantly going on within the boundaries of the radio studio and exists between Adrian and the censors who blank out all the bad news such as deaths and bombings, failing to deliver the real news, and instead keep morale from going below a certain point. Adrian's style of giving the people what they should hear in a charismatic style also rubs off spawning a sub-story revolving around a small school that teaches Vietnamese people the English language. Before hand, they were learning very basic words and phrases but after Adrian takes over, New York City slang or 'jargon' is the name of the game and while you wouldn't find English as a foreign language classes doing this sort of thing, Adrian brings his charismatic style to a class, turning it from formal to informal.
The theme here is that he's giving them exactly what he feels they need to know, not what the curriculum demand they know. It is the same with the radio station and the news censorship; giving people what they have a right to know vs. what a higher power say they should know. The principal foil for Adrian is Lt. Steven Hauk (Kirby) who is against Adrian's style of parody and constant joking but when he is put on air, the best he can do is adopt the voice and role of a Frenchman as he mocks and plods his way through airtime. It is a battle that the oppositional readers loose since morale falls drastically after Adrian is taken off and he is forced to be reinstated because of this.
Good Morning, Vietnam carries a pumping soundtrack which is what you'd expect for a film about a DJ and an emphasis on radio and its constant referencing to popular culture, gliding from The Wizard of Oz to Eleanor Roosevelt makes Williams' scenes consistently fun to watch. But other than this, it gives some political stances without ever feeling forced with the 'Wonderful World' montage over wartime action and juxtaposes James Brown's music over other scenes of wartime action. The film is a success in comedy and drama, a rarity of sorts given Dr. Strangelove supposedly set the standards. -
gavin69424 September 2009Robin Williams plays Adrian Cronauer, a real-life DJ stationed in Vietnam. He confronts authority and does what he can to defend the Vietnamese people, while befriending one man and trying to date his sister with moderate success. And then things go downhill.
I can sum this movie up in one sentence: Robin Williams is not funny. The film is full of him ad-libbing voices where he's a homosexual, or a redneck or referencing people that were probably forgotten in 1987, and definitely today. He's decent as an actor when not trying to be funny, but every attempt at humor falls flat. To make matters worse, people in the background are literally falling out of their chairs with laughter... I don't think so.
Forest Whitaker is in this, and plays more or less no role other than to follow Cronauer around and be a somewhat dim-witted sidekick who can't ride a bike or start a jeep properly. That's unfortunate that Whitaker was sidelined for Williams.
You've most likely seen this film, as it has aired on television a million times in the past twenty years. I avoided it, and only came to view it by random happenstance. This was, as it turns out, a mistake, and I was right to avoid it. (Also, if you have any interest in real Vietnam War history, the actual Cronauer makes it clear that Williams did not portray him even remotely accurately.) -
AlsExGal6 November 2016... he would be Robin William's portrayal of D.J. Adrian Cronauer in this film. This ended Robin William's long period of exile in purely comedic, and quite frankly, silly films that started back in 1980 with Popeye. His career up to this point paralleled Steve Martin's in many ways, because his past career as a stand-up comic - and let's face it Mork and Mindy just had him basically doing stand-up on the four year run of that TV show - had pigeon-holed him into doing films like "The Survivors" and "The Best of Times" where he was doing straight comedy with mediocre scripts.
This role was tailor made for Williams, because when he does his thing as the morning DJ, it is his own impromptu brash brand of fast talking comedy that made him famous. I hear that the director just gave Robin an outline of what was going on and let him rip. Nobody is safe - not then ex-Veep Nixon, not Walter Cronkite, not LBJ's daughters. Plus there is a great soundtrack of the best of sixties music. So much so that they wind up playing a song that wasn't even written in 1965 - "You Just Keep Me Hanging On". To play against Willams' character is Bruno Kirby as Lt. Steven Hauk who is not evil, he is just as square as he can be with no appreciation of Cronauer's humor or taste in music. I think we've all had bosses like this guy. For evil you have to go to J.T. Walsh as Sgt. Major Dickinson, who threatens and actually seems like he would enjoy sending Cronauer to his death in the jungles of Nam.
Robin Williams gets to do some serious acting when he runs into the extreme censorship of the news that is done by the army - he doesn't get to report anything that isn't completely positive. And, up close and personal, he runs into the fact that "the enemy" includes the Vietnamese themselves, who are not so much hot on Communism as they are cold to the idea of being occupied by the Americans as they had been occupied by the French before.
I can't tell you anymore than this without giving something away. Just realize that this film is not a complete laughfest - there is some serious stuff going on here too - and that is why it was perfect for Robin Williams' transition to serious roles. Highly recommended. -
nickenchuggets2 August 2021Recently, I've been watching a great deal of things relating to the war in vietnam, most of them consisting of actual footage that was recorded there during the fighting. This movie is not a war movie in the traditional sense and has a prominent element of comedy thrown in, but it's important to remember that it does take place in vietnam during the 60s. While I thought it was good, I don't know if I would consider it one of Robin Williams' best. The story opens with Adrian Cronauer (Williams) being sent to Saigon, south vietnam's capital city. He isn't there to fight, but instead is assigned to hosting a radio station to boost the morale of american soldiers. A soldier named Ed who works at the base is assigned to be Adrian's partner. However, his boss, Second Lieutenant Hauk and his subordinate, Sergeant Major Dickerson, do not approve of Cronauer's radio antics. They accuse him of encouraging negative behavior, saying his personality is too energetic and wild. Because of this, Cronauer is constantly at odds with them and struggles to keep his job. Lieutenant Hauk's boss, General Taylor, is a fan of Cronauer's radio station though, and overrules the lieutenant's wish to get Cronauer suspended. Later, Adrian, goes to a vietnamese schoolhouse and takes over the lessons there, teaching the students in the class to use american slang and profanity. While there, he meets a girl named Trinh and her brother Tuan. After bringing Tuan with him to a GI's only bar, two marines get into a fight with Adrian, which leads to him getting scolded by his superior officer. After going back to the bar and then leaving one day, it explodes violently and some people are killed. Adrian notices that Tuan somehow managed to escape the blast. Intent on letting this important news reach american ears, Adrian locks himself in the broadcasting room one day and starts spilling the details. An enraged Dickerson pounds on the door and disconnects the machine. Not only this, but Adrian is fired. This immensely pleases Dickerson and lieutenant Hauks, allowing the latter to replace Adrian as the radio host. However, no american servicemen like the new host and he receives a flood of hate mail. Meanwhile, Adrian tries to win Trinh's love, but she keeps turning him down. General Taylor overrides Hauk's decision to serve as radio host, and Adrian is reinstated. Despite this, he doesn't want his job anymore. Some time later, Adrian comes across a bunch of soldiers ready to be sent out on trucks, and one of them convinces him to ad-lib one of his broadcasts. Reluctantly, he does so, and the applause he gets from the men convinces him to get back to his work. Upon seeing Adrian back on the job, sergeant Dickerson is infuriated. He phones some marines in the field to find out if a certain road that Adrian is likely to travel on is unsafe, and they say yes. Dickerson sends Adrian and his friend on a car ride through this area, and their jeep explodes from a land mine. Adrian and Ed survive the explosion and begin making their way back to safety when Tuan suddenly appears and leads them to a rescue helicopter. Back at base, Dickerson bullies Adrian relentlessly for his behavior, calling him a moron. More importantly, Adrian learns he has lost his job permanently because Tuan is revealed to be a vietcong agent. He was the same one responsible for bombing the bar earlier, and was able to slip out before it exploded. Dickerson and general Taylor tell Adrian that sadly, they're not able to save his job because coming to the defense of a spy would be hypocritical for the United States. Adrian pressures Trinh into showing him where her brother is, and he tells Adrian he hates americans because they're responsible for bombing his village. At the end, Adrian says goodbye to Trinh, gives Ed an audio cassette containing his last broadcast, and leaves on a plane back to New York. Dickerson also starts complaining about how general Taylor has transferred him to Guam. I have to say, I typically don't regard many movies made in the 80s as classic, because the "classic" era of cinema was gone for some 2 decades by that point, but overall, this movie's ok. It is incredibly funny in certain parts, such as when Williams is tasked with broadcasting a speech by President Nixon and he edits his voice to answer out of context questions, such as whether or not the US Army has a marijuana problem. It's also pretty impressive how most of the snappy and very fast radio talk Williams does in this movie was improvised, and he managed to say all of it without making a mistake. On top of this, I also liked the setting of the movie itself. Saigon is not a place we often get to see in film, and here, it is portrayed as a dirty, rundown, dangerous hell on earth where there's way more people than houses and attacks by north vietnamese can come at any moment. The resemblance to reality is stunning. In all, I thought Good Morning Vietnam was a good addition to the list of well made vietnam war movies, even if it does have a macabre subject for a so called comedy.
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Good Morning, Vietnam is undoubtedly the film that propelled Robin Williams to the A-list. Beforehand he was only known as Mork from Ork, and the films he'd been asked to appear in (except perhaps Moscow on the Hudson) were ones not really giving him an opportunity to flex his true muscles as an actor.
But GMV changed all that, because it was the first time Williams had been given a character that finally allowed him to showcase his unique brand of improv. In this case, a DJ.
Its what Williams does with the part that makes GMV so compelling. His live-wire performance transforms the entire movie. Without Williams, GMV would be a considerably lesser film than it is.
Barry Levinson's film is rather unique because it was the first (and only) one to add a bit of comedy into the Vietnam War. Taking a leaf out of MASH's book, it uses the conflict in Saigon as a backdrop for William's barnstorming impressions and impersonations. And for the most part, its a sweet package.
Williams plays Adrian Cronauer, a funny man shipped to Saigon to be the new host of a morning radio show. Adrian's irreverent antics in front of the mike raises a few eyebrows among the straight-arrow US military, but the troops love him!
All the while, Adrian gets to know Vietnamese culture up close and personal. Something that leads to romance, friendship and eventually a betrayal that changes Adrian's life forever.
It was the decision to put Robin Williams at the centre that makes Good Morning, Vietnam such a great movie. Williams is a master of improvisation. He can slip from one impersonation to the next effortlessly. And the best part is, none of it is scripted. Williams improvises routines right out of thin air. You know he's just making this up as he's going along, and its a remarkable thing to see.
Levinson knows Williams needs no script or cue cards to work from. All he does is position the camera in front of Williams behind the mike, give him the line Good Morning, Vietnam and then go from there. And its like watching a comic whirlwind. Any scene with him on his radio show provides non-stop laughs. He has seldom been better in anything else.
What I also liked about GMV is its humorous approach to the misguided Vietnam conflict. Its when it tries to be a little more serious and dramatic that the film falls down. Yes the war in Vietnam was a terrible tragedy. Especially because it represented the American's sabre-rattling mentality at its narrowest. But the dramatic elements offer nothing particularly enlightening about the war. The comedy elements however do.
When Good Morning, Vietnam is funny its very funny. But when it tries to make serious points it slows the film right down. Its Williams irreverent commentaries on the conflict that give the film its life. Even when he's doing impressions of Richard Nixon and even Elmer Fudd there's a thinly disguised veil of contempt against the US military's participation in the Vietnam War. They're wrapped up in sharply satirical comic material, but they make more of an impact than the film's outright heavy-handed approach. Subtlety makes all the difference.
Robin Williams is the heart and soul of the entire picture of course. Whether he's delivering manic rapid-fire monologues on the air to teaching native Vietnamese the hip aspects of the English language, he holds the attention whenever he's around. He was deservedly nominated for an Oscar. An Oscar he should have won really.
Levinson surrounds Williams with talented character actors. The most engaging are Forest Whitaker and Noble Willingham. Whitaker plays Edward, a timid young man who learns to loosen up after spending time in Adrian's company. And Willingham plays Gen. Taylor, the only one among the top brass who takes a shine to Adrian's unorthodox methods. He brings depth to what could have been an easily clichéd character.
On the downside, JT Walsh plays exactly the type of character Willingham is so skillful at avoiding. A pompous, self-important bureaucrat who takes an instant dislike to Adrian's free-thinking spirit. I have to admit I found it a bit hard to swallow that Walsh's character Sgt Major Dickerson (tee-hee!) would actually try to get Adrian killed in VC territory. No matter how much he hated him. His is an unnecessary character really. The film could have done just as well, and arguably better without him.
Nethertheless, the ending is still quite sad when Adrian winds up being shipped back to the US because one of his Vietnamese friends is a terrorist. Williams performance is so faultless that even when you can see the mechanicals of the plot clicking into place, you still feel sadness for him. His closing message is the perfect blend of cutting humour and acute pathos.
Good Morning, Vietnam would have been better if it had stayed true to the comic route. But despite a few bumps in the screenplay, Robin Williams' quite excellent (even virtuoso) performance keeps things remarkably on course. He made a questionable detour into sentimental schmaltz in the following 90s, but this film shows you what Robin Williams can be capable of when given the right material to work with. -
If you ever witnessed a Robin Williams interview after he broke out his Mork from Ork character, you'd know that he took his manic persona into overdrive whenever he appeared on variety or talks shows of the era. It always struck me that he couldn't do enough to outdo himself, to the point that sometimes he looked like he was trying too hard. His character here, airman Adrian Cronauer, is sort of representative of what I'm talking about, whenever he's quipping on the radio or doing a version of stand up while stuck in military motor traffic. The movie is definitely an anti-war vehicle, cleverly disguised as a Robin Williams comedy, or as close to comedy as you can get while bringing the Vietnam War to the big screen. That stunning sequence of napalm ignited jungle juxtaposed with the lyrics of Louis Armstrong's 'It's a Wonderful World' creates just the sort of conflicted emotions the film is expected to arouse in the viewer, while the consequences of Cronauer's relationship with the young Vietnamese Tuan (Tung Thanh Tran) brings the horror of war into direct focus for one so unsuspecting. Bruno Kirby and J.T. Walsh bring a callous naivete to their roles as Cronauer's clueless superiors, and after the film was over, I though a more suitable ending would have had Cronauer reassigned as a DJ to a radio station in Guam. That would have been right after General Taylor (Noble Willingham) sent Sgt. Major Dickerson (Walsh) there to temper his rigidity as an officer. Would have served him right.
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johny_walker_blacklabel19 January 2022As a foreign viewer, more than half of the film dialogue and radio shows was completely incomprehensible. Filled with convoluted, old references to things and people you never heard of, that probably only an American in his late 70's would understand. Robin Williams charisma and comedic talent isn't enough to overturn that fact, so If you don't fit the above profile, I'd recommend to skip this one.
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Many may criticize Williams' overbearing, abrasive, and often frenetic comedic style. But this movie has you covered in lt. Hauck. He acts as an amazing foil to Williams' character as well as serving as a vehicle for people turned off by Williams'. But even with Williams' comedy being very subjective, it fits the movie very well. The idea is that he is brightening Vietnam soldiers days with his radio show. In some cases his bright and optimistic demeanor is one of the only shining parts of the battlefield, the movie makes this very clear.
Williams' character has a very interesting arch albeit fairly predictable. Rather than having us follow from the view of Williams I often found myself following the side characters reactions. I found Hauck's complete distaste for Williams' humor contrasting everyone else's opinion quite funny. And the relationship between Williams and Garlick allows to see how Williams changes throughout the story.
There are a few issues that I have with this movie however. This movie gave me tonal whiplash. For the majority of the beginning I felt like it was going to be a lighthearted comedy with a little romance mixed in. Then when the bar exploded it took a much more serious tone and if it had continued for the rest of the movie it could have been better. But as it is, Williams struggles to deal with the incident for a while and it shows him in a terrible emotional state. Then it cuts to Hauck making terrible jokes on Williams radio show for comedic effect, regaining a more lighthearted tone again. It continues with Hauck until Williams is going to get show back. Williams declines which makes sense for his character. The brief argument scene between Garlick and Williams is well done as well as his live performance for the soldiers. (I would also like to add that the "What a Wonderful World" scene juxtaposed perfectly with the war scenes in the background. I though this was a good tone for the movie) I didn't like that Hauck and the Sergeant General came up with some dastardly plan to dispose of Williams as it came out of nowhere and didn't make much sense to me.
Overall Good Morning Vietnam is a decent movie I would give it a watch even if Williams' style of comedy isn't your favorite. It held my interest for the most part and ends in a satisfactory manner. Even though I spoiled quite a bit of this movie I hope you all enjoy it.