Admiration for Williams

Rating: 5/10 (11 November 2003)

The best thing in this movie are the songs the DJ gives us. That DJ is funny man Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) and we are talking 1965, Vietnam. I didn't find him very funny, but I can understand if you think that he is. Although I didn't like the character, a man who really was a DJ in the Vietnam war, I admired Robin Williams. With a lot of improvising, may be sometimes trying to hard, he does a great job. My problem is that I only liked some of the jokes and, again, there is a good chance you will not have that problem.
The story is mainly about Cronauer. How his superiors try to get rid of him but his co-workers like him, especially Montesque Garlick (Forest Whitaker), how he becomes friends with local boy Tuan (Tung Thanh Tran) and how he is in love with Tuan's sister Trinh (Chintara Sukapatana).
It is all a little predictable. Example: Cronauer gets suspended and when they want him back he is not very willing. The sequence where he is convinced to go back, you will know which one I mean, is something that has to be in a movie like this. When you see the set-up you will predict the whole scene right.
Again, I admired Robin Williams. The other performances are good as well. I loved the classic songs, I especially liked the sequence chosen during Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World, and of course the direction by Barry Levinson was pretty good. These things make this movie easy to watch, it doesn't get boring either, but I simply did not like it very much.