"The horror."

Rating: 2/10 (9 April 2000)

This film is but a reminder of how brilliantly funny Robin Williams once was. As a military dj, he is allowed to riff at will. Unfortunately, comedy's greatest daredevil is now working with a net. His improvisations are no longer improvisations; rather, they are simulations, a stock set of comic moves performed at break-neck speed (so as to give the impression of spontaneity). And Levinson's heavy-handed direction only makes matters worse. There are so many cut aways to listeners laughing their poor heads off that you can't help but feeling bullied ("YOU don't tell ME what's funny. I tell YOU what's funny."). This is an example of Ineffectual manipulation at its most extreme.