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Good Morning, Vietnam [1988]

Starring: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tung Thanh Tran, Chintara Sukapatana, Bruno Kirby
Director: Barry Levinson
Format: PAL Widescreen
Released: 13 May 2002
RRP: £17.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Total drivel. - By: Mr. I. P. Whiting, 10 Jul 2008
Am I supposed to find this guy funny or something? I attempted to watch the whole of this film, but ended up bearing the first hour only ... My favourite part? ... when the world most annoying man (Williams) finds himself punched by a GI in the bar. Maybe something meaningful happened in the second half, but I will never know because I was so irritated by the swell headed antics of the desperately unfunny lead character. I dedided to leave early.
Good Story but overated - By: Film Critic, 20 Nov 2007
A reasonably interesting story set during the Vietnam war, but personallly I found Robin Williams somewhat unfunny & larger than life on his radio broadcasts - ok maybe he was meant to be larger than life on the radio but it just annoyed me, in fact when he was angry at the end I enjoyed his performance more it didn't then seem like a front/a facade.
I was quite glad he was kicked off the radio station at the end I think it was well deserved - Goooooooodbyeeeeee Robin!
Good Gracious Robin Williams - By: Jay, 23 Jun 2007
Robin Williams acts as 'The Voice' of the American armed voices during the Vietnam war. His best performance to date & contrasts with the often bland image that his superiors want him to display. As a DJ who has done his 'market research', he knows that many of the US Soldiers are nineteen or in their early twenties. SO what do they listen to at that time?
Cronauer's unusual broadcasting personality makes him popular against the soldiers in the field, but he is a thorn in the side of his superiors, Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) & Phillip Dickerson (JT Walsh) who prefer he stick to format. Cronauer is a hit with his monologues & rock n' roll hour. He's a pretty tough character, not caring much about the threats from Hauk & Dickerson, knowing that he's doing something good for the soldiers at least, who seem to enjoy it. He tests the waters with his commanding officers, however, when he tries to read the censored news bulletins on aired, hoping to remove the illusion of a "happy" war. But, even here, it doesn't seem like Cronauer is much of a character that stands out as a defiant one, & it looks like his actions had absolutely no effect on the soldier or anything like that (at least as far as the movie shows you). So where they were going with this aspect of the plot is pretty unclear (or perhaps, unfinished).

This is typical Robin Williams comedy, let loose for quite a few minutes at a time to splurge on semi-humorous monologues (at least when he doesn't do his impersonations so fast that you can't discern what he's saying). It is funny at moments, but most of the jokes are pretty stupid. It is nothing exciting, nor particularly engaging (though he does have some funny dialogue when it comes from the script). The more interesting secondary characters such as Forrest Whitakker are hardly developed in any sort of interest at alll, & probably would've been necessary anyway to get some direction for this damned story & from the central character.
Funny, sad and one of the best actors of all time! - By: , 10 Feb 2005
Robin Williams is absolutely great in this film! I watched it a while ago but I still remember it!

I would definately get this if you like war films or Robin Williams.

Classic Robin Williams! - By: no1filmaddict, 16 Aug 2004
I was only about ten years old when i saw my first Robin Williams film & ever since then i have been pretty much hooked, & on watching films like this, you can totallly see why.

I didn't realise until after i had watched this film that it was in fact based upon a true story & that Adrian Cronauer the radio DJ is in fact a real person & originallly it was his idea to transfer his story onto the big screen. However according to the real Adrian Cronauer the film is only about forty-five percent accurate & in it he is misinterpreted as being anti-military when he was reallly, in his own words "anti-stupidity". And so the film must be taken with a pinch of salt both as far as the portrayal of 1960s' armed forces radio & as far as the movie's plot is concerned. However this does not make it any less enjoyable & or funny with Williams as Adrian Cronauer himself.

Against the grim back-drop of the Vietnam war, radical DJ Adrian Cronauer is draftered in from Greece to Saigon by the military as a field-radio broadcaster. While his antics amuse the soldiers he was put there to amuse, they also put him in hot water with his superior officers, particularly Lt. Steven Hauk, who would prefer that the radio show be censored, sanitized, & completely noncontroversial. He decides to take over the running of an English class so that he can meet the beautiful Demure Trinh, however instead ends up befriending her brother Tuan. However things are not what they seem & when Tuan turns out to be a terrorist & Cronauer's antics on the air reach their limit as far as the officals are concerned, he is fired from his post & send away from Saigon for good.

The theme of realisation i think is quite big in this film, appearing mainly in Cronauer himself; the realisation of what war is reallly like as he sees terrorist attacks around him, one of which he was nearly involved in; & the realisation of the people around him specificallly Tuan who turns out to be a terrorist & responsible for several attacks.

Obviously Robin Willaims is brilliant in this film as Adrian Cronauer the radical radio DJ whose idea of entertaining the field arevery different from the military's. The rest of the cast are also very good in their supporting roles; Forest Whitaker as Pfc. Montesque Garlick,
the only person in the military who becomes friends with Cronauer while he is in Saigon; Tung Thanh Tran who plays Phan Duc To the Vietnamese terrorist who befriends Cronauer & pretends to be callled Tuan; Chintara Sukapatana who plays the lovely Trinh, the brother of Tuan & the girl Adrian fancies; & Bruno Kirby who plays 2nd Lt. Steven Hauk the guy who has had two jokes published in Readers Digest & takes over Cronauer's job on the air for a while when he quite due to restrictions of his material. I could go on forever but you get the picture that the cast are alll good in their roles.

There are a number of extras on this DVD which make it just that little bit more worth buying. Firstly there is a wonderful featurette that tracks the process that Robin Williams went through to improvise the radio slots & is a valuable insight into the comedic talents of the film's star (although any fan of his already knows). Secondly there is a production diary containing interviews with the cast, crew abd even the real life Cronauer himself. Thirdly there are two trailers; the original theatrical trailer & a teaser trailer. Then of course there are the usual scene selections & interactive menus which you come to expect from a DVD anyway.

Overalll, 'Good Morning Vietnam' reallly is a wondeful movie & will make even the most serious of people laugh until hurts. If you calll yourself a Robin Williams fan then of course this film is for you, but if you just want a highly funny & enjoyable film with a slightly serious side, then this film is for you. Whatever you do, don't miss out on this piece of classic Robin Williams! Highly Recommended!