Another Williams paean to himself

Rating: Null/10 (2 July 2004)

If you approach this as another Robin Williams exercise in self-aggrandisement, (in the mold of "Patch Adams" and "Bicentennial Man") you won't be disappointed. The laughs in "Good Morning Vietnam" rely upon William's ability to talk so fast that the audience assumes that the bits they miss must be priceless (as an experiment, I listened really hard during a couple of soliloquies, and they definitely weren't funny). Some comedians are sharp enough to improvise and have the audience rolling around on the floor, but Williams really needs a script in order to prevent him falling back on his "camp impression" and other assorted wacky voices. Cue segues to the soldiers actually wiping away the tears of laughter at his routine, in order to convey to us how hilarious he is. Such guidance is a relief, as otherwise I would never have realized. This film falls into the (dominant) "please love me" category of his career, before his agent took him aside to say: "you're perceived as a bit mawkish Robin, you need to roughen up your edges by playing a psychotic film developer". To sum up, if - as I do - you positively enjoy watching a performance so cringeworthy that it will disjoint your toes, this is a must see.