a movie set during the Vietnam war blending comedy and drama very well together

Rating: 9/10 (1 January 2007)

this is a highly entertaining movie,which flows very smoothly and moves at a good clip.it is based(although very loosely,but it works in this case)the exploits of unorthodox Radio Dejay,Adrian Cronoar.The movie stars Robin Williams As Cronaur and is set in Saigon during the Vietnam war.Cronaur brings his own unique blend of humour to the airwaves.nothing is off limits and everyone and everything Cronaur can think of is skewered in some way.Cronaur is wacky, manic and raunchy at times.this,of course upsets the sanitized and safe version of events allowed on the airwaves.naturally the troops in the field get a big boost of moral and they love Cronaur.the the top brass try everything they can to keep him in line with "the program"(with hilarious results)and to get rid of him.the movie is not just comedy however.it contains some strong scones of drama,and is even touching at times,yet not maudlin or sappy. Williams was born to play this role and is brilliant as Cronaur.the supporting cast all put in great performances,as well.but credit must also go to director Barry Levinson,who keeps the flow of the movie intact.the dramatic scenes are handled very well,and as i said never drift into maudlin territory.and given the movie's sensitive subject matter,Levinson does very well at keeping the movie from crossing the line into bad taste.I really enjoyed this movie.it is well worth spending the 2 hours.a strong 9* out of 10