ehenderson1230@franklin.edu

Rating: 5/10 (11 June 2011)

This movie depicted the era of the Vietnam War, and presented Robin Williams as Adrian Cronauer. As a DJ for the Armed Forces Radio Service he brought a breath of fresh air and comedy to a very dismal situation. He had quite an impact upon the morale of the enlisted men, but was disliked intensely by Second Lieutenant Steven Hauk played by Bruno Kirby and Sergeant Major Dickerson played by J.T. Walsh. They felt he was severely irreverent. Many films have been made concerning Vietnam such as Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, to name just a few, and they all touch upon the theme concerning the rigors, sadness and horrors of war. This film's twist was to bring a touch of comedy to the misery of the war itself, much like the show M*A*S*H attempted to do. Adrian repeatedly raised the ire of the two officers by doing "skits" where he would change his voice to famous people and conduct phony interviews with them, make sound effects, and play music they considered wrong. In his own way he stated his opinions and versions on issues of the world. One of the many things that angered Adrian was that he couldn't present many news articles, nor always tell the full news stories. He felt they were masking reality from the enlisted men. He made you laugh but between the lines, you felt his sarcasm, frustration, and mockery of things going on. When he did disobey and enlightened everyone to the bombing at Jimmy Wan's he was pulled off the air. This gave Lieutenant Hauk a chance to shine as the DJ which he didn't. He was not funny and actually thought the men would want to hear polka songs. Adrian truthfully did not want to return to the air even after countless letters implored for his return. Thanks to Garlick stopping on the road as troops were about to go into battle, Adrian was pressed into an impromptu "show". It was then he realized that his show was extremely vital to the men for coping with the anguish of the war. One of the saddest parts of the movie is when Adrian realized that Traun, who he considered a good friend, was in actuality a VC operative. It hurt him to know that Traun was behind the bombing of the G.I. bar. Because of this revelation and friendship, Dickerson is overjoyed to be able to give Adrian an honorable discharge. Even at the end of the movie, Adrian's character is revealed. He stops on the way to the airport, to set up a softball game with the members from his English class. Garlick takes over as the DJ for Adrian, and plays a last tape from him. Instead of his usual cry of "Goooooood morning Vietnam", he responds with "Goodbyeee Vietnam".