Dark, satirical comedy that does for Vietnam what "M*A*S*H*" did for Korea

Rating: 8/10 (1 September 2008)

"Good Morning, Vietnam" forms part of what may be called the cinema's Second Vietnam Cycle. The first came in the late Seventies, immediately after the war itself, with films such as "The Deerhunter", "Coming Home" and "Apocalypse Now". Hollywood then seemed to lose interest in the subject for a few years, but returned to it in the late eighties when there were a number of major Vietnam War films such as "Full Metal Jacket", "Hamburger Hill", "Casualties of War" and Oliver Stone's trilogy of "Platoon", "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Heaven and Earth".
All those other films take a deeply serious look at the war, but "Good Morning, Vietnam" is often regarded as a comedy, albeit a dark, satirical one. It essentially does for Vietnam what "M*A*S*H*" did for Korea. The film is set in 1965, and is loosely based upon the experiences of Adrian Cronauer, a DJ with American Forces Radio, during the Vietnam War. (The title comes from his habit of beginning every broadcast with an exuberant shout of "Gooood Moooorning, Vietnaaam!") The real Cronauer is a conservative Republican, but Robin Williams plays him here as a rebel against authority, although he is a rebel who, initially, has some support from the Army's top brass. It's the bottom brass who can't stand him. He is brought to Vietnam by a General who admired his broadcasts to American forces based in Crete. Cronauer, whose shows combine music with quickfire satirical comedy, proves immensely popular with the troops, but alienates his commanding officer, Lieutenant Hauk. Hauk dislikes his style of humour and the fact that he plays rock and roll instead of the likes of Mantovani, Perry Como and Andy Williams. Cronauer also makes an enemy of his immediate superior Sergeant Major Dickerson, who finds him insubordinate.
As Roger Ebert has pointed out, the character of Cronauer undergoes considerable development in the course of the film as he begins to learn more about the war and about Vietnam itself. (That is, Vietnam the country as opposed to Vietnam the American foreign policy blunder). At first his irreverent humour is merely satire for satire's sake, but as time goes on it takes on a more questioning and more political tone. A key moment comes when Cronauer witnesses the bombing by the Vietcong of a Saigon bar which causes the death of a number of GIs. He wants to make reference to this incident in one of his broadcasts, but is prevented from doing so by Dickerson, who takes the view that if something is not "official" news it never happened. (Cronauer's situation is similar to that of Matthew Modine's Private Joker in "Full Metal Jacket", another film from the same year. Joker is a journalist on a military newspaper who becomes frustrated with his job, which he sees as dishonest, slanted reporting for propaganda purposes).
Despite earning the enmity of Hauk and Dickerson, Cronauer is for a time protected by his patron General Taylor, who regards his broadcasts as being good for the men's morale. Cronauer's downfall eventually comes when he befriends a young Vietnamese man named Tuan, who turns out to be a Vietcong supporter. Even the General can no longer protect him, and Cronauer is discharged from the armed forces.
Robin Williams started his career as a stand-up comedian, so he was a natural for the role of Cronauer. I have always regarded "Dead Poets' Society" as Williams' best film, but "Good Morning, Vietnam" is a strong candidate for his next best, along with "Mrs Doubtfire" and "One Hour Photo". It brought him a well-earned Oscar nomination, although he lost out to Michael Douglas in "Wall Street". Williams also receives excellent support from Forest Whitaker as Cronauer's friend Edward Garlick, Tung Thanh Tran as Tuan and J.T. Walsh as the arrogant bully Dickerson.
There are some very amusing scenes, such as Cronauer's spoof Richard Nixon interview, and the one where he is teaching a class of Vietnamese students how to swear in English. There are also some brilliant lines; most of these are given to Cronauer ("No, we can't say "dyke" on the air, we can't even say "lesbian" anymore, it's "women in comfortable shoes"), but some of the other characters join in. (" I wouldn't buy an apple from the son of a bitch and I consider him a good, close, personal friend"- General Taylor on Nixon). Even the normally humourless Dickerson gets to utter the memorable threat "You better not even come within range of anything that happens or your ass is grass, and I'm a lawn mower". "Good Morning, Vietnam" is, in places, a very funny film, but it is also one that raises some serious issues about the war. 8/10