The wrong man. In the wrong place. At the right time.

Rating: Null/10 (10 April 2003)

Goooooooood morning, Vietnam', is the catch cry of irreverent, nonconformist Army Radio DJ Adrian Cronauer, and once you have heard it for the first time you know that you are in for a special performance from one of Hollywood's great comedic actors. Placed in Saigon, in the middle of the Vietnam War, Cronauer has a very unique style of Dee-Jaying, which makes him very popular with the troops, but not so with his officials. This is Robin Williams at his very best, in a role that he was born to do.
Imported by the Army for an early a.m. radio show, Adrian Cronauer blasts the formerly staid, sanitised airwaves with a constant barrage of rapid-fire humour and the hottest hits from back home. The G.I.s love him - but the brass is up in arms! Riddled with side-splitting comic bombshells and studded with hot '60s hits, Good Morning Vietnam depicts Cronauer's raucous Saigon adventures amid a world gone mad.
I really enjoyed the story of GMV. As I am writing this review, the world is at war, so I feel that a movie like this can help to bring into perspective what war might be like. The story is based around the Vietnam War, with Adrian Cronauer brought into strut his stuff on the air. From the first time we hear Adrian do his radio show, the movie is placed into overdrive, as we get one of the great comedic performances. GMV was directed by Barry Levinson in a really clever way. I love how he shows Cronauer to cause a great commotion during the war, while not shying away from other issues concerning the war. Levinson used the very funny screenplay written by Mitch Markowitz. I love the characters Mitch wrote in the story, and the humour that was placed in the lead character of Cronauer.

So with all that in prospective, if Robin Williams did not bring the right comedic feel to the movie, it could have gone wrong. But as the good comedian that he is, Williams pulled the role off. He was so funny in front of the microphone, adlibbing his way through all his radio show. When he is not, he is almost as funny, trying to pick up Vietnamese girls of the street, going as far as to be an English teacher to attract one sweet girl called Trinh (Chintara Sukupatana). These scenes are extremely funny, as Cronauer uses a lot of his humour to allow himself to fit into the class. Adrian's help while on the air is Edward Garlick (Forest Whittaker). He rides through all the highs and lows Cronauer has in Vietnam and is strongly influenced by what sort of character Cronauer is. The other character that is helped by Cronauer is another DJ, Marty Lee Dewitz (Robert Wuhl) who is totally in awe of DJ Cronauer who has swept in from places we actually do not know.
Yet there are characters here that do not like Adrian, which in turn I feel us as the audience, are not meant to like either. Lt Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) is infuriated by the style of broadcasting that Cronauer has brought to Armed Forces Radio, so much so that he tries his own hand at Cronauer's show. However, he is a terrible replacement, with the troops causing quite a commotion, asking for the irreverent DJ to be reinstated immediately. The other official that Cronauer rubs up the wrong way is Major Philip Dick' Dickerson (J.T. Walsh). He has no time for Adrian's smartass attitude and has contempt for the man, evening commenting that Cronauer's humour is not funny at all'. Yet, at the end of the film, the comment by Cronauer is exactly what you want Dickerson to hear, as he has a really mean attitude problem, as told by his superior, General Taylor (Noble Willington).

There is one surprising character in GMV, that of Trinh's younger brother Tuan (Tung Thanh Tran). For the majority of the film you believe that he is a good character, but as the film comes to a conclusion, and we learn who and what Tuan really is, and you can understand why Cronauer is a little peeved at person that he called friend'. There confrontation is one of the more dramatic and touching moments in the film.
There are many other memorable moments in GMV'. I love how we are introduced to Cronauer, as we have no idea what sort of DJ he is or he is going to be. I also like the scene where Edward takes Adrian into the field, to see what a difference he has made to the troops who are serving in the war. Once again we get to see how funny-a-man Cronauer is. I must also make mention of the great soundtrack that was assembled for GMV. With Adrian playing such great rock 'n' roll hits as the Beach Boy's I get around' and Don't worry baby', the Searchers sugar and spice', Wilson Pickett's the midnight hour', James Brown's I got you (I feel good) and Louis Armstrong's classic hit  What a wonderful world'. All these songs make the movie unforgettable and essentially what it is.
So I really like this movie, not only for the classic radio scenarios that we are shown, but for how game the movie is in showing the dangers of war. In fact there is one scene in this movie that brings back memories of last October in Bali. I believe this is the good work of Barry Levinson and his team, who must have had a great time on the movie. I just wish I had watched this movie while trying desperately to become a radio DJ, because Adrian Cronauer makes the air waves look a lot of fun.
CMRS gives Good Morning, Vietnam': 5 (Brilliant Film)