The Wise Fool (Good Morning, Vietnam (DVD))

Member Name: Whitehorse

Product:	Good Morning, Vietnam (DVD)
Date:	07/07/03 (319 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Robin Williams, Some great shots

Disadvantages: A little dragged out in places

I used to love M*A*S*H* and fondly remember those evening curled up on the sofa laughing at the loveable Hawkeye. This programme represented my limit of knowledge on the various wars of the world. Having never taken history at school my knowledge of the worlds political history is admittedly dire. A now glowing example is that I started talking about MASH to lead into talking about Good Morning Vietnam - thinking that both the Korean War and the Vietnam war were the same. In fact as I watched the film last night I realised that I had no idea when Vietnam happened or why or even where Vietnam is. They are things I will have to go and look up after I've finished this opinion although no doubt my mind will forget the facts immediately after reading. I think all that really matters is that thousands of people died.

Robin Williams is a favourite of mine and in this movie he is let loose to parade his wild brand of comedy to full effect. He plays Adrian Cronauer, a DJ brought into Saigon to work on the local army network informing and entertaining the troops. His immediate superiors aren't happy - one is a comedian trapped in the body of an utter bore and the other a sergeant with a huge chip on his shoulder. Unphased, Cronauer takes to the airways and shakes the bones of the army boys in the field with his playing of restricted music and tendency to de-censor the news. The men love him. He's not afraid to poke fun at political figures nor the war itself. In the traditional of Fools everywhere, Adrian speaks truth that is buried in jest. He is a lose canon, his is rebellious but he is just what is needed in the stifling military that lives for rules.

Whilst drinking in a local bar Adrian spots a beautiful Vietnamese women and is completely enamoured by her. Eventually he begins teaching the English class she belongs to in an effort to get to know her better. All the time her young but fiercely protective brother stands between them and Adrian
has another battle on his hands.

Having watched this film before some years ago I felt that this time I was watching with a far more critical eye. Williams is undoubtedly brilliant at the part he plays which is incidentally based on the real man of the same name. The original Adrian Cronauer however was actually quite serious and although he was consulted in the making of the movie much of his input was subsequently changed and there were disputes between him and director Barry Levinson.

What is difficult about this movie however is the slow pace. The rapid fire delivery of Williams perhaps only heightens the fact that certainly for the first hour of the film nothing much actually happens. Apparently the director wanted to capture a documentary style feel which he certainly does but unfortunately now and again this seems to fade into image after image of Vietnam and soldiers. Interesting and enlightening as these images are after some time I felt like they lost their impact because there just seemed to many of them and there was perhaps more reliance on the images to tell the story rather than the script. Mitch Markowitz who originally worked on Mash and few other TV series probably didn't have a huge amount to do as Williams adlibbed his way through.

In the biography by Andy Dougan, Williams said "The character is basically 98 per cent me." This doesn't surprise me at all. In fact there were many occasions when I felt and could see Williams was not really in character anymore and it is a strange experience to watch an actor suddenly being himself when you are expecting him to be someone else. Interestingly this actually adds to the movie - particularly in the scene where Cronauer entertains the troops whilst in a traffic jam. this scene in particular is very moving and I felt that Williams as genuinely moved by the memories of the war that he must have.

The acting is top notch with the likes of Forest Whitta
ker and the young Tung Thanh Tran who plays the brother of the girl Adrian is interested in. However the authenticity of having genuine Vietnamese actors unfortunately means that sometimes what is said is lost to the viewer as I really struggled to understand them sometimes.

Of course being a DJ means that Cronauer gets to play music popular at the time (even though he's meant to stick to the likes of Perry Como). In turn this means that fans of 60's and early 70's music are given a feast for the ears. Not my kind of thing at all so I can't get excited about it although the score for me gets ten out of ten just for playing Louis Armstrongs 'Wonderful Life'. The imagery that accompanies the track is poignant. You can apparently buy the soundtrack and the songs are interspersed with Williams manic DJ style from the film.

At the time it came out in 1987, Good Morning Vietnam was a challenging movie. The Vietnam war was a huge cancer on the face of America and therefore a humorous look at this blip in history was seen as a potential no.no. Whatever criticisms I have however, the movie does succeed in pointing out the futility of war, the utter stupidity of war - and perhaps this war in particular which I now know they lost.

Williams was given his first Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Adrian Cronauer but since then has made what I consider to be better movies - namely Awakenings, What Dreams May Come, Dead Poets Society, The Fisher King and many more. These I think tap into the fullness of Williams as a performer. Perhaps however that fullness began here in those moments when we see the man behind the mania that is Williams and realise his depths and versatility.

I do think that Good Morning Vietnam is a movie to be seen if you haven't seen it. It remains a classic because of it's style and approach. You may not like Williams style but this film has moments that are unmissable.

Wil
liams is quoted to have said "You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.". For that I applaud him.

http://www.ibn-khouri.com/rwilliams/
The Ultimate Robin Williams Website

http://www.levinson.com/
Director Barry Levinson's homesite

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