I’d compare him to Nicolas Cage. Put him in the right role with a strong director and he will deliver. The man CAN act when instructed to do so. Most of the time, though, he’s a complete mess drowning in his own mixture of hyper-goofiness and sugary pathos.
I agree with Brad that with the right role, Robin Williams can deliver the goods.
I’ve always been a big fan of Robin Williams as very talented artist. Yeah, he’s made his fair share of stinkers but that doesn’t bother me (I just don’t see those films). His standup is very entertaining and I loved when he came to talk with James Lipton for Inside the Actor’s Studio. It’s actually surprised me how many people hate him and I don’t understand why. How can you not enjoy Mrs. Doubtfire or The Birdcage? They may not be great works of cinema but they’re fun bits of entertainment.
You are right that he was one of the first contemporary stand up comedians to cross over to dramatic parts and do it successfully.
Here are some of my favs:
The World According to Garp
Good Morning Vietnam
The Fisher King
Toys
Mrs. Doubtfire
Insomnia
One Hour Photo
And I know this statement might get people to dismiss everything I subsequently ever say on this website but I actually like Hook.
One of my least favorite actors/personas. Maybe a few exceptions where he tried to depart from his normal schtick but he is a toxic presence on screen for me. Thankfully, his career largely appears to be dead.
Do you guys get the impression that he’s really gone down hill recently—almost as if he’s lost it? (In interviews, I get the sense that he’s either really tired, on some heavy medication or a dried-out recovering drug-abuser (I know he did drugs, but supposedly when he got off of it, he didn’t have that dried-out vibe.).
@Santino
Hook? Good move with mentioning your feeling about that last. :) (Anytime you give me grief about a film I like, I’m pulling the Hook card—“Yeah, but you like Hook!” :)
I really like World According to Garp
Btw, in his later career, he seemed interested in exploring villains, and, at first, I thought that had potenting. However, I didn’t think he was very good in Insomnia. (Wasn’t he a villain in a film called, "Night Listener* or something like that? On a side note, I always thought Gene Wilder might have made an effective villain.)
He buries himself in his own schtick, even when he’s playing a “serious” role. His presence is always a bit of an intrusion as far as I’m concerned. And as a comic personality (i.e. when he’s being interviewed on a late night show), he is downright annoying.
Do you guys get the impression that he’s really gone down hill recently…
I get the impression the he’s been trying to go uphill his entire career.
And as a comic personality (i.e. when he’s being interviewed on a late night show), he is downright annoying.
Oh, you’re killing me with that one, Nathan. I love him when he’s in that mode—at least when he’s funny (which is often the case; although I think he’s lost a lot, imo.)
I’m not sure what’s worse – when Robin strains for craziness or strains for empathy. His sad clown is almost as insufferable as his manic cokehead.
nanu nanu :O)
^ Yeah, I have a hard time getting Mork out of my head whenever I see him perform.
Does anyone remember the first couple appearances of Robin Williams as Mork on Happy Days? This was a much edgier character and interesting comic creation than the more cuddly and dull one that showed up on Mork and Mindy. It was kind of a peek a what could have been, but was soon abandoned.
I don’t think he’s lost it, I just don’t know if the roles are there. I mean, at the very least he’s been trying different things and working with independent filmmakers. Even if movies like The Night Listener, The Final Cut, and The Big White weren’t good films, they’re certainly not big budget Hollywood films.
Yeah, I think after he did Insomnia and One Hour Photo he tried to play against type. I liked him a lot in both of those roles but he hasn’t been able to duplicate that level of performance in his villain roles lately. Yeah, The Night Listener was stinky.
@ Jazz – You can have the Hook line. I’m sure there are other films out there that would suffer a similar fate, should I choose to out myself. lol
Man, no! And I used to watch Happy Days way back when. Do you think that episode is on Hulu?…
i agree with Brad as well, in the right role, he exceeds in his performance, without proper direction or writing, he is just that much worse.
i will say that i kind of prefer him as a serious actor or in dark comedies than in a straight comedic role.
I personally love his roles in Death to Smoochy, Good Will Hunting, Hook, Insomnia, Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Morning Vietnam and The World According to Garp and find that those films are some of his best work.
Just so long as no one defends Jack, Father’s Day or Patch Adams, I’m sure this thread will be okay.
Robin Williams is one of my favorite actors. I’ve never felt that he has ruined a movie that would have been really good had he not acted so much like himself. I think he is usually cast in those movies because he is Robin Williams rather than because he is a good actor. I never felt this way in Insomnia. I also recently saw him on broadway in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo where he was amazing. None of his schtick. Really amazing performance. I’ve found that in anything he does there is something worth looking at the he would do better than anyone else. I watched the movie Jack on TV. Not a great movie, and not one of his best performances, but he obviously put a lot of thought into how he holds his face. I’m a huge fan.
@Brad
Just so long as no one defends Jack, Father’s Day or Patch Adams, I’m sure this thread will be okay.
Please don’t tell me that means you’re fine with Hook. ;) (Fwiw, I liked the concept of Hook, but that’s about all I liked.)
Re: Mork
I didn’t recall the appearance on Happy Days being edgier or more interesting. You could argue that the character got worse after his appearance on Happy Days, but that’s not saying much, imo.
@Simon
I think he is usually cast in those movies because he is Robin Williams rather than because he is a good actor. I never felt this way in Insomnia.
For me, I guess he never convinced me that he was as cunning or menacing as the character needed to be.
For me, I guess he never convinced me that he was as cunning or menacing as the character needed to be.
That’s probably because the memory of rainbow suspenders was too ingrained in your memory…
He is a movie killer as an actor. He has too genuine modes- zany, or hammy. When neither zany or hammy is called for, he sits there emptily with sad eyes and a slight smirk.
As a comic, he has perfected the “music” of zany comedy, but when you listen to the actual jokes, they are not that funny. -But the audiences’ brains are tricked – “these sounds like rapid fire jokes…. hey, they must be rapid fire jokes… and HE is certainly having a good time…. maybe I am too?” and so they laugh.
He seems like a nice guy, for what that is worth.
He’s great at what he does, but what he does isn’t called for that often.
He was funny twenty years ago.
^ ha ha ha
By the way Jazz, the last thing I expected when clicking on a Robin Williams thread was that the thread would start with these three words:
Like Robert DeNiro
@Jazz
I am in no way fine with Hook, but it speaks to William’s low end that he’s been in worse.
Please keep in mind that my use of the term edgy is in relation to the Happy Days universe, which I was quite well versed in at the age of 9. (Note to young Mubians – Can’t explain. You had to be there.)
His shtick is awful. I feel sorry for him when he does stand up, all that energy for no reason.
He is a good straight man though, The Night Listener, World’s Greatest Dad, Deconstructing Harry to name a few.
I usually avoid a film when he is in it, but I don’t hate him or anything.
@Two
As a comic, he has perfected the “music” of zany comedy, but when you listen to the actual jokes, they are not that funny. -But the audiences’ brains are tricked – “these sounds like rapid fire jokes…. hey, they must be rapid fire jokes… and HE is certainly having a good time…. maybe I am too?” and so they laugh.
You’re going too far, aren’t you? Or are you really so sure that this is happening? Basically, you’re saying that people who think Williams is funny are deceiving themselves (which implies that they’re idiots). I think his stand-up in the HBO Live at the Met (I think that’s what it was called; it was in the 80s), is hilarious—and in terms of improvisatory comedy, bordering on genius. It’s like a jazz musician playing a great solo in a live performance. I also love the way he was able to transfer this approach with roles in Good Morning Vietnam and Aladdin.
By the way Jazz, the last thing I expected when clicking on a Robin Williams thread was that the thread would start with these three words:
Like Robert DeNiro
Haha. Hey, I think the comparison fits—at least in terms of both actors making me wonder if they’ve lost their ability.
@Brad
Please keep in mind that my use of the term edgy is in relation to the Happy Days universe, which I was quite well versed in at the age of 9.
OK, got it. Yes it was edgy for Happy Days, but I think it was pretty dumb. (It seemed like they were going for something like the Gazoo character in The Flintstones.) Fwiw, Happy Days reruns came on TV every day at 6:00 PM in Hawai’i (from the mid-70s to the mid-80s). I’ve probably seen every episode at least twice and probably a lot more than that.
I disagree big time with the Deniro comparison, Deniro is doing some of the worst work of his career.
Williams (sure he did Old Dogs but) has had two hits Museum and its sequel where he was the best thing in them. And worlds greatest dad may be his best film. Interesting tho he is doing next a rom com that features Deniro and Katryn Heigel so maybe this will be his and Robert’s biggest decline.
@Den
Williams (sure he did Old Dogs but) has had two hits Museum and its sequel where he was the best thing in them. And worlds greatest dad may be his best film.
To be honest, I’ve never seen those films—but they just didn’t look very good, imo. In other words, they give me the impression that he’s gone downhill. But as I haven’t seen the films, I really can say for certain (although you’re praising the films doesn’t help. ;)
nanoo nanoo :O(
Jazzaloha
Like Robert De Niro, my sense is that Robin Williams has really gone downhill—both in terms of his acting and the films he stars in. But there was a time when I really liked his film persona, and I enjoyed seeing him in leading roles. I liked the roles where he harnessed his free-wheeling improv style, but I also liked his more sudued serious roles, particularly where he was a wise teacher/mentor (e.g., Dead Poet’s Society or Good Will Hunting).
In this thread I want to discuss Robin Williams and his career in films. What do people think of him as a screen actor? What are some of his best films? What do people think about his early films? (I haven’t seen a lot of them, but I’m curious about them. I’m thinking of films like Survivors, Moscow on the Hudson, etc.) Would people agree that he’s a pioneer in terms of the crossover from stand-up comedian to dramatic actor?