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Perhaps controversial as I never see it mentioned, though I love Robin Williams in What Dreams May Come. He plays wonderfully a slowly breaking man finding hope in and within darkness. It’s a movie of many messages and meanings, with a lot of symbolism.
It’s far from his most popular movies and yet I cannot help but love it all the same.
I absolutely love “What Dreams May Come”.
I think it may have been the first serious role I saw him in.
For the funny: Mrs. Doubtfire
For the serious: Patch Adams
Pretty hard to argue with that.
I used to dream of being a DJ because of him in Good Morning Vietnam. Put that shit on and I could probably still “sing” along. But I don’t think it tops those roles.
I’d pick Mrs. Doubtfire for the serious as well. The “addicted to my children” speech is among the best Williams has ever done.
i cannot find doubtfire funny in any capacity. its sad, revolting.
I’ve been curious how feelings about a movie like Mrs. Doubtfire would evolve over time. Do you mind elaborating on what you find sad and revolting?
Also, have you always felt this way/this strongly about the movie or did your emotions change as there was more public awareness of how marginalized people are in society?
These are sincere questions, I genuinely want to know your thoughts and feelings. Also, totally acceptable answer if you’ve just always hated the movie or even dislike Robin Williams; I realize my previous questioning has a lot of bias.
To be fair, the premise of the movie is kinda fucked up. He could have disguised as another man and it would still be pretty creepy to think about if done in real life.
Ok, so devil’s advocate here. What Robin’s character, Daniel, does in the movie is rash, immature and a bit creepy. But that is the point. He is rash and immature at the beginning of the film. It’s why they get divorced in the first place. He’s a manchild and would rather be the fun dad than a responsible dad and makes his wife have to compensate for him and be the full time disciplinarian, maid, and bread winner. What redeems him is the growth he shows by the end. In pretending to be Mrs. Doubtfire, he becomes a more mature, responsible adult. Not just with how he interacts with the kids, but also in caring for his apartment, doing a job even when it sucks, advancing his career, etc. Obviously he doesn’t mature to the point that he reveals his deceit and apologizes for it of his own volition. But he does end up in a place where he and Miranda can amicably co-parent even as they remain separated, which is a long way from where they started.
And, in regard to the creepiness, let’s acknowledge that it could easily have been much worse. For example, he doesn’t creep on, hit on, or do anything sexually untoward to his ex-wife, Miranda, after their divorce, something I would not have been shocked to see in an early 90s comedy movie. I know that’s not a high bar, but let’s be real about the common brand of humor from films of the time. His primary crimes are, of course, misrepresentating/disguising his identity to fraudulently get a job nannying his kids, sabotaging Miranda’s ad in order to get that job, and being real low-key petty towards the new boyfriend and mildly tormenting him (the incident with the near chocking was not cool, but clearly accidental.) I personally don’t find those things, in the context of a comedy film, to be so heinous as to render the movie disgusting, appalling or without the ability to enjoy the humor. But that’s me. To each their own.
He does dose Stu’s food with cayenne knowing he has a pepper allergy. That’s straight up assault.
Yeah, but he is also very drunk and uninhibited by that point because his boss keeps pushing scotches on him. He also goes to save his life without hesitation too. So not great, but again, could have been much worse.
Edit: I just thought about it and, if I remember correctly, he is not present when Stu orders and says he’s very allergic. They decide to order while waiting for Mrs. Doubtfire who had been “in the bathroom” for a long time. So he didn’t know Stu was allergic. Daniel just hears the cook call out the “non-spicy” dish for their table in the kitchen and then adds cayenne to it to fuck with him. Petty for sure, but he didn’t intend to seriously hurt the guy.
PETAH PAN
BANGARANG!
Is there any film in which he wasn’t absolutely stellar?
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen comes to mind. Kind of one-note performance, really, but to be fair to him it’s not a deep character.
Oh fuck, also Toys! That fucking stinker of a film.
If you don’t like Toys your inner child was dead at the time you watched it.
One Hour Photo.
It’s not my favorite per se, but it was so unexpected given all the other roles we know him for.
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I went into that movie having only seen the poster. What a fucking ride!
Good Will Hunting comes to mind as one that hasn’t already been mentioned.
As one of his non comedic roles, I’d say he kills it and kinda steals the show.
What Dreams May Come
There’s a scene where he’s angry that his wife has gone. He screams into his mentor’s face, “suicides go to hell?” it’s a devastating scene. he’s the only person who could deliver that line.
his mentor is wrong, by the way. he and his wife find each other again. it’s got a beautiful ending.
Birdcage
Robin and Steve Martin once did ‘Waiting For Godot’ at Lincoln Center.
Apparently there’s no video avaialble
OK
Those who were there say they saw it. Those who weren’t there but know about it say they didn’t see it. Those who weren’t there and didn’t know about it don’t mention it. If you stop to think about it, you’ll find yourself considering the concept.
This whole post was about favorite roles, not rare stage performances
You’re correct. I liked how the original comment was relatively interesting but ultimately irrelevant to the topic. Your dry reply amused me, so I decided to make a contribution that’s wholly asinine on every level but wordy enough to look like a legitimate commentary. I hope you’ve enjoyed my attempt to lower the bar.
Thank you for your service
Always and forever Genie from Aladdin.
Being a cartoon freed him from any physical constraints and allowed him to go wild.
Should I call you ‘Al’? … or ‘Din’? … or how bout just ‘Laddy’!
definitely one of my favourite Williams characters
