Movie Review: GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM

GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM

1987
R

Good Morning, Vietnam is a dramatic comedy directed by Barry Levinson that centers around an armed forces radio DJ during the Vietnam War. The film opens on the arrival of Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) upon his transfer from Greece to the conflict in Vietnam. He immediately starts his job as one of the new disc jockeys for the armed forces radio network, but his alternative approach to broadcasting, which deviates extremely from the status quo that the network had previously offered, meets immediate resistance from his superiors, Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) and Sgt. Major Dickerson (J.T. Walsh). However, the men stationed around the country quickly take a liking to Cronauer's broadcasts, making the decision to remove him from his seat all the more difficult for Dickerson and Hauk. Soon after his arrival, Cronauer meets and falls for a young Vietnamese woman named Trinh (Chintara Sukapatana) and befriends her brother Tuan (Tung Thanh Tran) in order to get into the family's good graces. He tries to balance his newfound friendships with the stress of his job, where he's quickly being censored from telling the troops the truth of what's really happening around Vietnam. Cronauer ultimately has to decide whether to act against his superiors' wishes or fall into step with them.

The first thing you're going to notice about this film is Robin Williams. He's one of the first people you see once the movie starts, and he's in almost every scene from that point on. I think it should be mentioned that Williams scored his first Academy Award nomination - for Best Actor - for this role (he ultimately lost to Michael Douglas for Wall Street), so even the Academy took a little bit of notice despite the comedic nature of the performance. Although I don't think it's his best performance, it definitely ranks near the top of Williams fare. When he has to draw it back and be dramatic, he does so with a fire and a power that truly resonates. And what can I say about his comedy? You should know that he ad-libs all of his radio broadcasts in the film - he's probably one of the only people who'd be as capable of doing so - and they prove to be brutally hilarious. Overall, Williams makes this film, which is good because I did have an issue with some other stuff. But more on that in a moment.

The rest of the cast fills out quite nicely, to be honest. There isn't a weak link anywhere in the film, and although there's no one else that quite reaches Williams' level of insanity, everyone plays their part as best they can. Kirby and Walsh are very good as our two main antagonists, and they easily make you want to hate them very quickly. Forest Whitaker also plays a very strong supporting role as Cronauer's best American friend, Edward Garlick. The two have a lot of over-the-top funny scenes - there's a good contrast between Cronauer's comedy and Garlick's dorkiness - but they also share some sentimental moments as well. I'd also like to give a shout out Cu Ba Nguyen, who plays openly gay bar owner Jimmy Wah. He doesn't have a huge role in the film, but whenever he's on-screen, it's almost impossible not to laugh.

I did have a tiny bit of issue with the screenplay, if only that it's a tad bit predictable. There's really only one major twist in the storyline, but I figured it out the moment they telegraphed it early in the film. It takes the rest of the film for everyone else to figure it out, and I thought that was a little bit lame. I just thought it was so blatant that it took me out of the movie for a little while. I eventually found my way back into the storyline, but for a while, I was just waiting for everyone to come to the ultimate realization I had already assumed. Aside from that, the screenplay is relatively strong. The story isn't anything brilliant, but it works well considering the brand of fare. The dialogue also works to the film's advantage, even if much of Williams' was ad-libbed on the spot. Ultimately, I look to that one little goof in predictability that keeps Good Morning, Vietnam from being a fantastic film. Fantastic films don't ever let you think outside of their immediate universe, but that little tidbit threw me out for a little while. Fortunately, it did enough to draw me back in.

I do want to make mention of the brilliant soundtrack used within the film. The orchestral score is good, but it's used rather sparingly. However, when you have a musical compilation that includes Them, The Grass Roots, The Beach Boys, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Louis Armstrong and the Supremes (and many more!), you know you're in for an auditory treat. I don't know what it is about movies about Vietnam, but they all tend to have fantastic soundtracks. Maybe it's just the time period. Yeah, that's probably it. But Good Morning, Vietnam definitely knocks that pitch outta the park.

Overall, I don't know whether Good Morning, Vietnam is really going to be a movie that'll stick with me forever. Yeah, Robin Williams is great, but I could easily forget about this movie within the coming weeks. That being said, it's definitely worth a watch if you're in the mood. Just because you might forget it in the future doesn't mean it's not going to entertain you in the present. So give it a go and see how you feel. I'd bet you'd rather enjoy it.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: B+
2 Thumbs Up

Movie Review: RAIN MAN

RAIN MAN

1988
R

Rain Man is a 1988 Oscar-winning dramatic film directed by Barry Levinson. The film opens on Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), a hot-headed yuppie who runs an expensive car business. Upon hearing the news of his estranged father's passing, Charlie and his girlfriend Susanna (Valeria Golino) make their way to Cincinnati the funeral. Afterwards, Charlie learns that his inheritance includes only a classic Buick Roadmaster and some prize-winning rosebushes; they $3 million estate, however, has been given to an unnamed beneficiary. Charlie begins to search for answers and learns that the money has gone to Raymond Babbitt (Dustin Hoffman), the elder brother Charlie never knew he had. Raymond is institutionalized as a high-functioning autistic, but Charlie decides to take matters into his own hands. In an attempt to attain half of his father's estate, he kidnaps Raymond from the institution and tries to take him back to his home in Los Angeles where a court hearing will determine what is best for Raymond.

This film was the big winner at the Academy Awards in 1989, nabbing eight nominations and four wins (including Best Actor for Hoffman, Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture). Although I don't personally think it's the best film from 1988 that I've ever seen - Die Hard, Beetle Juice, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit rank slightly higher - it's still a fascinating watch that borders the lines of a must-see. There are a few issues with the actual storyline, the most pressing being that the film is entirely predictable. We can see from a mile away that Charlie is going to achieve some sort of major personality change as a result of the time he spends with his brother. I feel like I've seen this type of story dozens of times before, so it's not necessarily original. It's just wrapped in a different kind of wrapping paper, so to speak. However, Rain Man works more as a character drama rather than a plot-driven film. It's not about the fact that Charlie is going to have a change of heart; the important aspect is how he reaches that point. In addition, we get to see a change in Raymond's personality. It's not as drastic, but it's enough to be profound by the end of the film.

With character-driven films, acting is key. If an actor can't make us believe the transformation of their character, then the film loses all of its power because it doesn't have an astounding story to fall back on. Fortunately, our two leads are simply fantastic and entirely convincing in their respective roles. Let's start with Hoffman, who grabbed his second Oscar statuette for his turn as the autistic Raymond Babbitt (his first win came for 1979's Kramer vs. Kramer, for those of you who were wondering). Now, here in the 21st century, I couldn't help but recount one particular scene from 2008's Tropic Thunder as I watched Hoffman's performance. One of the central ideas in Tropic Thunder is the idea that so many actors will go ridiculously deep into a role. In the scene, Robert Downey Jr.'s character is explaining to Ben Stiller's character why you should "never go full retard" for a role. When pressed for an explanation, he continues by referencing Rain Man: "Check it out. Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man, look retarded, act retarded, not retarded. Counted toothpicks, cheated cards. Autistic, sho'." The fact that Hoffman was referenced goes to show just how dedicated he was to his craft in creating the character Raymond Babbitt. While he does have a couple of over-the-top moments that the Academy tends to love, the real meat behind his performance is the subtlety he brings to the screen. There's a number of little ticks that he gives to Raymond that make the performance stunningly brilliant, and he easily deserved his Oscar recognition.

I'd also like to take a moment to talk about Tom Cruise, the only other main character presented in the film. I know that a lot of people nowadays have issue with Mr. Cruise, and considering his media exposure over the past few years, I can't necessarily blame them. However, none of that should take away the fact that he's a very, very good actor. Sure, he tends to play characters that parallel his own personality, and I feel like his role in Rain Man falls into that category. That being said, I'd easily put his Rain Man performance in my top three favorite Cruise roles, behind only 2004's Collateral and 2008's Tropic Thunder. In this film, he makes Charlie's transformation so real and so visceral that we almost make it right alongside him. I started the film absolutely hating Charlie Babbitt, but by the time the final credits rolled, I wanted to shake his hand. That's saying a lot, to be sure.

Rain Man is definitely a movie you should watch. I wouldn't quite call it a must-see film, but it's pretty damn close. It met every expectation I had of it, and although it didn't grade as highly as I thought it would, it's still a very good film that I'm sure you'd enjoy.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: B+
2 Thumbs Up