I'm a day late and a dollar short for sure. I can't seem to help being that way these days. I meant to get this post up on a Tuesday, but it will piggy back on Wednesday's post. Yesterday we lost the funniest man in the world, Robin Williams. He struggled in his lifetime with drug and alcohol addiction and severe depression. It seems strange that we would never suspect such things of him. He was always laughing or making people laugh. However, that was his life's work, acting and he was very good at it. I suppose it could be used to wall off the world from the truth inside a person.
I'm going to stretch the topic some...travel....as we are going to travel through the movies that he made that meant something to me. Each of those movies had a location, right?
When I was little I remember watching Mork and Mindy. His facial expressions were captivating and as a kid I thought he was one cool adult that I would want to hang out with. I was a pretty serious child and he looked like the cure. I spent time perfecting my "Na-noo, Na-noo" handshake. These days kids have no idea who Mork was or what he symbolized at the time....acceptance and change and going against the grain. (Ork)
Another childhood favorite was Popeye. I loved the cartoon to pieces. I watched it just as much as Tom and Jerry (which was a lot). The movie was interesting and I loved Robin Williams as Popeye, but even as a kid I couldn't stand Shelly Duvall. What a hack. (Sweethaven)
The World According to Garp was a pretty heavy movie. I saw it as a younger person and didn't quite get it because I didn't have enough life experience. I think I am going to go back to this one and watch it again to see if it grabs me a little more. (New England/NYC)
Who doesn't love "Good Morning Vietnam"? Robin Williams in this role made me want to go into radio and journalism. I ran my radio station in college and was preparing for a life in broadcasting when my life fell apart a little. I never forgot the thrill of being in the booth and having a voice. (Saigon)
Ah....then there is Dead Poets Society. This may not have been the greatest movie ever made, but it touched me. It made me long for a teacher who would be willing to jump on desks and look outside the box. I wanted a teacher to love what they were doing and not be afraid to show his/her students. I never did achieve this, but the movie did get me more interested in literature. If I'm honest, it makes me cry every time I watch it. (Welton)
Two of Robin Williams' movies look at him on both sides of the coin. In Awakenings he plays a doctor in a mental institution working to bring people out of decades long catatonia and in The Fisher King he gets to play the crazy homeless guy. He was such a versatile actor. He could play a serious character, a funny man, a crazy man...you name it. (NYC)
In Hook we got to love him as Peter Pan. It seemed like the true essence of his being. A neverending kid. He made it ok for parents to take their kids to the movies just to see him. He gives us cover to rent the DVD too. We all want to go to Neverland.
The only thing that saved Aladdin from being an outright boring Disney movie was Robin Williams playing the voiced character of the genie. He drove this movie and made it interesting. He had so many great one liners delivered in his characteristic style that we all love. (India)
In Mrs. Doubtfire you find Robin's character willing to dress as a woman and pretend to be a nanny just to be around his kids after his wife asks him for a divorce and gets custody of the kids. It is a hysterical movie that most everyone has seen and loves to watch with their kids. (San Fran)
I just introduced The Birdcage to my daughter a few weeks ago. I am not sure she knew what to make of it with all the flamboyance, drag queens, and openly gay activity. She looked bewildered, but at the same time she laughed in all the right places because Robin Williams is hysterically funny. He is memorable in everything he does. (Miami)
Good Will Hunting was a serious movie for Williams and after seeing it several time I couldn't imagine anyone else in that role. He brought out the best in Matt Damon and gave us a movie about moving forward. (Boston)
Death to Smoochy. Come on, you know you love it. Rainbow Fucking Randolph!! (NYC)
Lastly, one of the creepiest roles for Robin Williams was One Hour Photo. I think it is in this film that we really get to understand the stretch of his ability. It was a stunning performance and so unlike anything else that he had ever done before, or after.
Robin Williams, I will miss you. You made my entire family laugh when I was a child. You could lift me up out of any funk if I put one of your comedy skits on. I would laugh until I almost couldn't breathe. I'm sorry your life had an undertone of sadness that even your own humor couldn't cure. You touched the lives of everyday people. That is pretty impressive on a grand scale. God Speed.
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