Good Morning, Vietnam [DVD] [1988]

The new DJ in question was Adrian Cronauer; fresh from an assignment in Greece.

While the idea for a fictionalized account of his Vietnam experience was Cronauer's own, fueled by the popularity of "M*A*S*H," the script for Barry Levinson's "Good Morning Vietnam" was ultimately penned by screenwriter Mitch Markowitz with only some input from Cronauer himself, who has since gone out of his way to underline the fictional nature of the account and stress that his true stance was not so much anti-military as "anti-stupidity." Thus, the film has to be taken with a considerable grain of salt; both as far as the portrayal of 1960s' armed forces radio and as far as the movie's plot is concerned. But that doesn't make it any less poignant; nor does it take away one iota of Robin Williams's performance as Cronauer: Indeed, the role of an irreverent, unstoppable DJ seemed tailor-made for Williams, who had burst onto the scene with his inimitable brand of lightning-quick ad-libbing ten years earlier in "Mork & Mindy" - and of course, all of Cronauer's hilarious broadcasts in this movie are ad-libbed, too.

The film follows Adrian Cronauer from his arrival in Saigon in the spring of 1965 to his forced departure about a half year later (although the real Cronauer in fact stayed for a year and was not forced out but left when his regular tour of duty was over). While a comedy, and although not trying to be anywhere near the "definitive" take on Vietnam, it does take a close look at the year when the conflict escalated and, in particular, at the resulting toll on human relations. Robin Williams earned his first of to date four well-deserved Academy Award nominations for this role (the others were for "Dead Poets Society" [1989], "The Fisher King" [1991] and "Good Will Hunting" [1997], the movie for which he finally scored on Oscar night). And in his inimitable way he provides pointed comic relief not only over the microphone but also, and always with a unique ear for the situation's mood, whenever the script would otherwise threaten to veer off into melodrama; such as after his discovery that his Vietnamese friend Tuan is actually a Viet Cong fighter named Phan Duc To ("It's unbelievable. Five months in Saigon, and my best friend turns out to be a V.C. This will not look good on a resume!!"); and in scenes that would otherwise be burdened with a bit too much cliche and/or deliberately funny writing, such as the conference after Cronauer's first broadcast, where Bruno Kirby (Lieutenant Hauk) gets to deliver such gems as "Don't say that the weather is the same all the time here, because it's not; in fact, it's two degrees cooler today than yesterday" and "I hate the fact that you people never salute me - I'm a lieutenant, and I would like salutes occasionally. That's what being a higher rank is all about." Even if Kirby himself gets to make up for these a little later in the same scene with the comment "We are not going to escalate [Vietnam into] a whole war so we can get a big name comedian" (Bob Hope who, as the men have informed him, does not "play police actions"), it takes Williams's/Cronauer's final weaving of the lieutenant's preferred abbreviations into a single sentence to truly put the finishing touch on the scene.

Although "Good Morning Vietnam" is clearly first and foremost a star vehicle for Robin Williams, he is joined by an outstanding supporting cast, including inter alia, besides Bruno Kirby, Forest Whitaker as Cronauer's good-natured sidekick PFC Montesque Garlick, the ever-reliable J.T. Walsh as his second great nemesis, Sergeant Major Dickerson (whose stock character of a straight-laced white middle class guy would probably not have come off convincingly as a villain vis-a-vis anybody *but* Robin Williams) and, in particular, Tung Thanh Tran as Tuan and Chintara Sukapatana as his sister Trinh: Her plea with Cronauer not (even) to seek her friendship, let alone more, because for her such an association with a man (particularly a foreigner) is culturally unacceptable, is one of the movie's most quietly powerful scenes. Exceptional is further Peter Sova's cinematography, which convincingly captures the daily realities of a city and a country on the brink of an all-out war, and is brilliantly complimented by the editing, which in turn also uses the soundtrack - more or less a mid-1960s "greatest hits" compilation - to maximum effect; be it in framing daily military routine, the soldiers' enjoyment of Cronauer's style of broadcasting or combat action: Indeed, hardly any image could make a more powerful statement on the cruel absurdity of war than seeing a village blown up to the tune of Louis Armstrong's "It's a Wonderful World."

Thus, "Good Morning Vietnam" is in its own way as poignant a wakeup call as any other movie about Vietnam - or about World War II, or any other war for that matter. It deservedly netted the Political Film Society's 1989 Peace Award, in addition to Robin Williams's Oscar nomination and his Golden Globe and American Comedy awards, as well as the movie's ASCAP soundtrack award. And it certainly bears revisiting - for its overall quality, for Robin Williams's performance, and also for lessons learned and deserving never to be forgotten.

I didn't realise until after i had watched this film that it was in fact based upon a true story and that Adrian Cronauer the radio DJ is in fact a real person and originally 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 and in it he is misinterpreted as being anti-military when he was really, 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 and as far as the movie's plot is concerned. However this does not make it any less enjoyable and 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, and 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 and when Tuan turns out to be a terrorist and Cronauer's antics on the air reach their limit as far as the officals are concerned, he is fired from his post and 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 really like as he sees terrorist attacks around him, one of which he was nearly involved in; and the realisation of the people around him specifically Tuan who turns out to be a terrorist and 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 and pretends to be called Tuan; Chintara Sukapatana who plays the lovely Trinh, the brother of Tuan and the girl Adrian fancies; and Bruno Kirby who plays 2nd Lt. Steven Hauk the guy who has had two jokes published in Readers Digest and 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 all 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 and 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 and a teaser trailer. Then of course there are the usual scene selections and interactive menus which you come to expect from a DVD anyway.

Overall, 'Good Morning Vietnam' really is a wondeful movie and will make even the most serious of people laugh until hurts. If you call yourself a Robin Williams fan then of course this film is for you, but if you just want a highly funny and 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!