A very good morning indeed!

Rating: 10/10 (31 May 2009)

The interesting thing about "Good Morning, Vietnam" is that so little of the horrors of the Vietnam War are shown, that the film effectively portrays the horror and senselessness of war. Director Barry Levinson instead shows shots of a printing machine showing the number of U.S. soldiers in Vietnam. The numbers constantly rise. It's very effective.
Essentially, though, "Good Morning Vietnam" is a hilarious comedy starring the master of improvisation, Robin Williams. Williams plays a non-conformist radio DJ, who essentially tries making the troops laugh. The GIs love him, but the military's top brass (especially Sgt. Major Dickerson, played by J.T. Walsh) is up in arms.
Interesting enough, by the end of "Good Morning Vietnam", we learn so much more about the characters— except Adrian Cronauer (Williams). He uses his comedy as a wall, keeping people from learning about him. When stranded in the wilderness, he starts using one-liners on the trees, for instance. This is a guy who remains a secret because he wants to— and it works, developing his character better than any back-story could.
Another extremely effective touch in "Good Morning, Vietnam" is the music. Sometimes, I'm not a fan of music with lyrics in films (most often, instrumental music works best, in my humble opinion). But in "Good Morning, Vietnam", songs about love are being played to accompany a time of war. It's a successful move.
The acting of the film is exemplary, including a touching performance by an actor you probably never heard of, Tung Thanh Tran. Memorable performances come from Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, and J.T. Walsh, and Williams even got an Oscar nomination for his performance.
To conclude, "Good Morning, Vietnam" is an interesting (to say the least) mix between wartime drama and comedy, aside from being plain old hilarious.