Robin Williams Remembered

I didn't have the same universally glorious opinion of Robin Williams' acting career as other people. Sometimes I found his animated and erratic humor to be over the top. But when he was right, he was so right. Here are my top five roles by Robin Williams.

5. Mork, from Mork & Mindy
I don't have many specific recollections from when I was very young, but I do remember watching Mork & Mindy. I can't imagine I understood much of the humor, or many of the words at all, but I remember seeing it on television. While I don't have any adult memories of the show, the fact that it was around so long ago, and yet I have that pinch of a memory, is enough to put it on my list.

4. The Genie, Aladdin
Ahh, Disney. I know some friends of mine are purely cynical and hate anything that was created without "artistic depth" to make money off of children, but those friends need to grow up. You can't be an angsty teenager your entire life. The Genie was exactly Robin Williams, but it was done perfectly. All of the kookyness and goofiness that Williams' humor could have was captured in a perfectly framed character. And truthfully, I'd wager that Williams' performance as the voice of The Genie inspired an entire generation of youths to take up acting. Good for them, and good for him.

3. Peter Banning/Peter Pan, Hook
Hook was freaking great.

2. Armand Goldman, The Birdcage
The Birdcage was a movie that I reviled on principle when I was a young homophobe. What an ignorant little twit I was. The Birdcage is absolutely hilarious, done perfectly across the board. It's got that Three's Company "secret dealings in the kitchen" vibe, but also the witty, awkward conversations in the sitting room. Robin Williams plays the perfect (no pun intended) straight man to Nathan Lane's wild card. I can't say enough good things about the film and Williams' performance, and if it weren't for one movie, it'd be #1 (as is the case with most things ranked second).

1. Daniel Hillard/Euphegenia Doubtfire, Mrs. Doubtfire
Talk about perfect. It's a sweet story with a ton of laughs, and a multitude of heartfelt moments. Like Aladdin, it once again sets up a few situations for Williams' wide variety of impressions, and the whole Mrs. Doubtfire role is one big impression. I've watched Mrs. Doubtfire probably a hundred times, and I enjoy it every time. It ends perfectly too, with the new TV Mrs. Doubtfire answering a letter from a viewer whose parents are getting a divorce. Gives me the sniffles every time.

Bangarang, Genie. Rest in peace.

Movie Reviewed - We Are Marshall

So if you know me at all, you know I'm a sucker for grief. It's kind of my favorite thing when I'm watching movies or TV. It's not to say that I enjoy seeing other people in pain, of course. It's more that, in movies, I think we all look for opportunities to connect with the characters. And grieving folks are the kind of folks I can connect with.

So, naturally, a movie about an entire town that grieves is something that I'd expect to be able to appreciate plenty. We Are Marshall follows the surviving players and coaches of Marshall University and how they endured through the tragic loss of most of their colleagues, teammates, and friends in a horrific plane crash. Just as much, it's about the town of Huntington, and how it was devastated by the tragedy.

For such a heart-wrenching story, though, the grief of the college and the town just didn't feel real enough. My heart strings are easily plucked, but for most of this movie, they sat idle. I'm not sure if it's because you don't have a chance to get to know the people who die before the crash, or if the movie's intention was to show the triumph of the survivors rather than their pain.

One thing's for sure, though: this movie did not suffer for acting prowess. Matthew McConaughey is brilliant as Jack Lengyel, the enigmatic coach who reached out to the grieving community and pushed the institution and the NCAA to help Marshall play their next season. Kate Mara and Ian McShane play the fiancee and father (respectively) of the team's deceased quarterback, and both perform admirably in relatively minor and layer-less roles.

But the real star of this film is Matthew Fox. He expertly portrays a man torn between his grief over the loss of so many of his dearest friends and his devotion to the game and school where he worked and lived with all of them. Before the very end of the movie, I had We Are Marshall pegged for three stars on Netflix, but Fox's scene in the locker room after the game against Xavier was poignant, emotional, and perfect. If you haven't seen the movie, I suggest you don't click here, as I'm sure it doesn't hold the same gravity without having seen the character's anguish. But I just couldn't write this post without linking to the video of it.

The Last Word - It was a good movie that wasn't quite as emotional as I'd hoped, but is brought up a level by Matthew Fox's tremendous performance.