Robin Williams Movies
Onstage, on television, in the movies or in a serious interview, listening to and watching comedian/actor Robin Williams is an extraordinary experience. An improvisational master with a style comparable to Danny Kaye, his words rush forth in a gush of manic energy. They punctuate even the most basic story with sudden subject detours that often dissolve into flights of comic fancy, bawdy repartee, and unpredictable celebrity impressions before returning earthward with some pithy comment or dead-on observation.Born in Chicago on July 21st, 1951, Williams was raised as an only child and had much time alone with which to develop his imagination, often by memorizing Jonathan Winters' comedy records. After high school, Williams studied political science at Claremont Men's College, as well as drama at Marin College in California and then at Juilliard. His first real break came when he was cast as a crazy space alien on a fanciful episode of Happy Days. William's portrayal of Mork from Ork delighted audiences and generated so great a response that producer Garry Marshall gave Williams his own sitcom, Mork and Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982. The show was a hit and established Williams as one of the most popular comedians (along with Richard Pryor and Billy Crystal) of the '70s and '80s.
Williams made his big screen debut in the title role of Robert Altman's elaborate but financially disastrous comic fantasy Popeye (1980). His next films included the modestly successful The World According to Garp, The Survivors, Moscow on the Hudson, Club Paradise, The Best of Times. Then in 1987, writer-director Barry Levinson drew from both sides of Williams - the manic shtickmeister and the studied Juliard thesp - for Good Morning, Vietnam, in which the comedian-cum-actor portrayed real-life deejay Adrian Cronauer, stationed in Saigon during the late sixties. Levinson shot the film strategically, by encouraging often outrageous, behind-the-mike improvisatory comedy routines for the scenes of Cronauer's broadcasts but evoking more sober dramatizations for Williams's scenes outside of the radio station. Thanks in no small part to this strategy, Williams received a much-deserved Oscar nomination for the role, but lost to Michael Douglas in Wall Street.
Williams subsequently tackled a restrained performance as an introverted scientist trying to help a catatonic Robert De Niro in Awakenings (1990). He also earned accolades for playing an inspirational English teacher in the comedy/drama Dead Poets Society (1989) -- a role that earned him his second Oscar nomination. Williams's tragi-comic portrayal of a mad, homeless man in search of salvation and the Holy Grail in The Fisher King (1991) earned him a third nomination. In 1993, he lent his voice to two popular animated movies, Ferngully: The Last Rain Forest and most notably Aladdin, in which he played a rollicking genie and was allowed to go all out with ad-libs, improvs, and scads of celebrity improvisations.
Further successes came in 1993 with Mrs. Doubtfire, in which he played a recently divorced father who masquerades as a Scottish nanny to be close to his kids. He had another hit in 1995 playing a rather staid homosexual club owner opposite a hilariously fey Nathan Lane in The Bird Cage. In 1997, Williams turned in one of his best dramatic performances in Good Will Hunting, a performance for which he was rewarded with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Williams kept up his dramatic endeavors with both of his 1998 films: the comedy Patch Adams and What Dreams May Come, a vibrantly colored exploration of the afterlife. He next had starring roles in both Bicentennial Man and Jakob the Liar, playing a robot-turned-human in the former and a prisoner of the Warsaw ghetto in the latter. Though it was obvious to all that Williams' waning film career needed an invigorating breath of fresh air, many may not have expected the dark 180-degree turn he attempted in 2002 with roles in Death to Smoochy, Insomnia and One Hour Photo. Catching audiences off-guard with his portrayal of three deeply disturbed and tortured souls, the roles pointed to a new stage in Williams' career in which he would substitute the sap for more sinister motivations.
Absent from the big-screen in 2003, Williams continued his vacation from comedy in 2004, starring in the little-seen thriller The Final Cut and in the David Duchovny-directed melodrama The House of D. After appearing in the comic documentary The Aristocrats and lending his voice to a character in the animated adventure Robots in 2005, he finally returned full-time in 2006 with roles in the vacation laugher RV and the crime comedy Man of the Year. His next project, The Night Listener, was a tense and erosive tale of literary trickery fueled by such serious issues as child abuse and AIDS.
Williams wasn't finished with comedy, however. He lent his voice to the cast of the family feature Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2, played a late night talk show host who accidentally wins a presidential election in Man of the Year, portrayed an enthusiastic minister in License to Wed, and played a statue of Teddy Roosevelt that comes to life in Night at the Museum and its sequel Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. He would also enjoy family-friendly comedic turns in World's Greatest Dad, Shrink, and Old Dogs. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Opus n' Bill in: A Wish for Wings That Work, adapted from the comic strip Bloom County, concerns the plans of Bill the Cat to help his friend Opus the Penguin achieve his dream of flying. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- 2001
- PG13
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Based on the 1969 short story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long, by Brian Aldiss, this science fiction fantasy bears similarities to Pinocchio (1940) and originated as a long-gestating project of director Stanley Kubrick that passed to his friend Steven Spielberg after Kubrick's death. Haley Joel Osment stars as David, a "mecha" or robot of the future, when the polar ice caps have melted and submerged many coastal cities, causing worldwide starvation and human dependence upon robotic assistance. The first mecha designed to experience love, David is the "son" of Henry (Sam Robards), an employee of the company that built the boy, and the grief-stricken Monica (Frances O'Connor). David is meant to replace the couple's hopelessly comatose son, but when their natural child recovers, David is abandoned and sets out to become "a real boy" worthy of his mother's affection. Along the way, David is mentored by a pleasure-providing mecha named Gigolo Joe (Jude Law) and a talking "super toy" bear named Teddy. His adventures take him to the Roman Circus-style "Flesh Fair," where mechas are destroyed for the amusement of humans; Rouge City, where Gigolo Joe narrowly avoids capture by police; and finally a submerged New York City, where David's creator, Professor Hobby (William Hurt) reveals the secrets of the boy's creation. Brendan Gleeson and narrator Ben Kingsley co-star in A.I., which was adapted from Kubrick's treatment by Spielberg, in his first crack at screenwriting since Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, (more)
Robin Williams's dizzying and hilarious voicing of the Genie is the main attraction of Aladdin, the third in the series of modern Disney animated movies that began with 1989's The Little Mermaid and heralded a new age for the genre. After a sultan (Douglas Seale) gives his daughter, Jasmine (Linda Larkin), three days to find a husband, she escapes the palace and encounters the street-savvy urchin Aladdin (Scott Weinger), who charms his way into her heart. While the sultan's Vizier, Jafar (Jonathan Freeman), weaves a spell so that he may marry Jasmine and become sultan himself, Aladdin discovers the Genie's lamp in a cave, rubs it, and sets the mystical entity free, leading the Genie to pledge his undying loyalty to the dazzled youth. Aladdin begins his quest to defeat Jafar and win the hand of the princess, with the Genie's help. Monsters, Disney's trademark talking animals, and a flying carpet all figure into the ensuing adventures, but Williams' Genie, who can change into anything or anybody, steals the show as he launches into one crazed monologue after another, impersonating figures from Ed Sullivan to Elvis Presley. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brad Kane, Scott Weinger, (more)
- 1996
In Disney's second straight-to-video sequel to Aladdin, Aladdin (voice of Scott Weinger) and Princess Jasmine (voice of Linda Larkin) have finally decided to marry, but when the big day finally arrives, the ceremony is thrown into chaos by the unexpected arrival of the Forty Thieves, who are searching for the enchanted Hand of Midas, a charm that will turn all it touches into gold. Aladdin makes the shocking discovery that his father (voice of John Rhys-Davies), long believed dead, is actually the leader of this infamous band of thieves, and when his father falls into peril, Aladdin must rescue him -- with the genie of the lamp (voice of Robin Williams) on hand to help. Robin Williams, whose voice work was considered a key factor in the success of the original Aladdin, returned to the franchise for this film after bowing out of the first sequel, The Return of Jafar, due to a financial dispute (in The Return of Jafar, the genie was voiced by Dan Castellaneta). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1988
Fans of the syndicated 1980s TV series An Evening at the Improv will get a kick out of this commemorative TV special. Budd Friedman, overseer of the Improv comedy club in Los Angeles, takes a back seat to host Robert Klein this time out. Offering their considerable talents to the occasion are such Improv habitues as Billy Crystal, Richard Lewis, Paul Rodriguez, Martin Mull and Robin Williams. This 60-minute video is unrated, but the language gets hilariously salty at times. All-Star Toast to the Improv debuted on the HBO cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1983
Each installment of An Evening With presents a performer, band, group, or other public figure in a setting aimed to please fans looking for a representative sampling of what a particular person or group of people does best. In this video, actor and comedian Robin Williams returns to his stand-up roots. Mainly relying on improvisation and sheer manic will, Williams performs before an appreciative audience at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. ~ Rob Ferrier, Rovi
- 2003
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Acclaimed actor Robin Williams narrates this heartfelt look at a Belgian priest whose selfless determination to ease the suffering of others came at the height of Hawaii's horrific leprosy epidemic. The year was 1872 and leprosy was sweeping through the Hawaiian islands. In a desperate bid to isolate the disease and prevent it from spreading any further than it already had, the government quickly established a bleak and remote leprosy settlement on the island of Molokai. Abandoned by their fellow man and forced to live on an island that had no medical care, scarce food, and minimal shelter, the quarantined population of Molokai seemed doomed to die an unimaginable death. Despite the perceived loss of hope in that dark hour, relief would soon come when in 1883 a youthful Belgian priest requested to be transferred to the island in order to care for the ailing leprosy victims. In the years that followed Father Damien would serve as an angel of mercy to hundreds of suffering people whose slow and grueling deaths would have otherwise been as lonely as they were painful. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Estranged from his parents by circumstance and nudged toward a foster family, a young boy seeks out his long-lost folks and discovers prodigious musical talent in this family-oriented drama from Disco Pigs director Kirsten Sheridan. In the aftermath of a passionate night together above New York's Washington Square, a charismatic Irish guitarist named Louis (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) and a reserved cellist named Lyla (Keri Russell) are forced apart by fate. Despite the fact that they do not remain together, however, their fleeting union has created something amazing that neither could have ever anticipated -- a baby. Unfortunately, just after the child's birth, the mother is misinformed that the infant has died. Cut to 11 years later, when the child, Evan, is living in a Gotham-area boys' home and has developed an acute ability to listen to the sounds of the outside world -- hoping against all hope that his biological mother and father will turn up to claim him, while those in charge try to encourage him to open himself up to the possibility of adoption. Unduly rejecting these bids, Evan runs away into the city. Out on the streets, the child falls into the clutches of a manipulative, untrustworthy street person named Wizard (Robin Williams), who renames Evan "August Rush" and opens the boy up to the depth and breadth of his own musical talent even as he smells the opportunity to grow rich off of the foundling. Meanwhile, Evan/August's hope persists that he will be reunited with his folks, and Louis and Lyla, unable to forget their initial night of love, feel themselves being drawn back together by fate. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, (more)
Based on a true story as related by neurologist Oliver Sacks, Awakenings stars Robin Williams as the Sacks counterpart, here named Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Something of a klutz and naif, Dr. Sayer takes a job at a Bronx psychiatric hospital in 1969. Here he's put in charge of several seemingly catatonic patients who, under Sayer's painstaking guidance, begin responding to certain stimulati. Apprised of the efficacy of a new drug called L-DOPA in treating degenerative-disease victims, Sayer is given permission to test the drug on one of his patients: Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro), who has not communicated with anyone since lapsing into catatonia as a child. Gradually, Lowe comes out of his shell, encouraging Sayers to administer L-DOPA to the other patients under his care. Julie Kavner and John Heard also star. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Robert De Niro, (more)
- 1993
- PG13
Five fables, each set in a different historical era, make up this quirky comedy from director Bill Forsyth. Each tale features Robin Williams as a basically decent but troubled average man named Hector. Beginning with the Bronze Age, where Hector struggles for survival against barbarians, the film proceeds through Roman times, the Middle Ages, and the 16th century, concluding in the present day, where Hector is a divorced father attempting to reconcile with his children. The film clearly intends to draw parallels between these stories in order to illustrate the universal nature of human experience, though the segments themselves vary widely in tone, from broadly comic to philosophically reflective. Additionally, some may find the film's attempts at creating a fantasy atmosphere rather cloying, while others may be charmed by the project's determined oddness and whimsicality. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, John Turturro, (more)
- 1990
Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and Billy Crystal once again donate their time and talent to host the Best of Comic Relief '90, a charity event to benefit the Comic Relief organization, which aids America's homeless. Among the over 40 comedy stars performing in this program are Louie Anderson, George Carlin, Dennis Miller, Joan Rivers, and the Simpsons, America's favorite cartoon family. Comic Relief has raised and distributed nearly 50 million dollars, providing direct health care services to homeless men, women, and children throughout the United States. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi
- Starring:
- Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
If a robot spends enough time around humans, can he learn to become one of them? The Martin family purchases a domestic android as a servant and names him Andrew (Robin Williams). Andrew comes to know the man of the house as Sir (Sam Neill), his wife as Ma'am Wendy Crewson, and their daughter as Portia (Embeth Davidtz); before long, the Martins suspect that they do not have an ordinary robot on their hands. Andrew seems capable of expressing emotion and generating original thoughts, and the longer he stays with the Martins, the more strongly these human traits manifest themselves. Over the next 200 years, Andrew becomes less a machine and more a member of the family, until a mechanic (Oliver Platt) tells Andrew that he might be able to turn him into a human being. Based on a short story by renowned science fiction author Isaac Asimov (surprisingly, it's only the second Asimov story to be brought to the screen), Bicentennial Man was directed by Chris Columbus, who previously worked with Robin Williams on Mrs. Doubtfire. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Sam Neill, (more)
Biography: Whoopi Goldberg documents the life of the Oscar winning actress from her difficult childhood, through her breakthrough on stage with the help of Mike Nichols, and her years as a movie star in such pictures as Ghost, Sister Act, and her debut in The Color Purple. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, (more)
Robin Williams stars in this oddball comedy about a fast-talking car salesman who is down on his luck and in over his head until an extreme situation forces him to use his sales skills to save lives. Joey O'Brien (Williams) is the stereotypical car salesman: enterprising, aggressive, and desperate to make enough money to spend on his high-maintenance girlfriends. But suddenly the pressure is really on: he owes money to the mob, his ex-wife is nagging him about not spending enough time with their teenage daughter, and if he doesn't sell at least a dozen cars by the time the big sale is over on Saturday, he's going to lose his job. As Joey attempts to placate several potential buyers, his day is interrupted by Larry (Tim Robbins), the insanely jealous husband of dimwitted showroom receptionist Donna (Annabella Sciorra), who's been having an affair with someone who works at the dealership. With the police surrounding the place, his job (and life) on the line, Joey realizes that it's up to him to use his wits to persuade Larry -- who's not even sure what he wants out of the situation -- not to kill anyone. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Tim Robbins, (more)
- 1977
- R
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Sex is the basis for this randy revue which features jokes, bedroom vignettes, and courtroom scenes. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rock Riddle, Victor Dunlap, (more)
- 1980
A drama about the lifestyles of free-living Jamaicans, director Lennie Little-White's Babylon does not lack sexual encounters. The beauteous graduate student Penny (Tobi) is picked up hitchhiking by an equally attractive artist named Rick (Don Parchment). The two of them put up at a local plantation whose owner Laura (Elizabeth de Lisser) is Rick's lover. Luke (Bob Andy) is a Rastafarian who works at the plantation and Penny ends up falling for both Rick and Luke. The combinations expand when Luke's girlfriend is added into the mix, creating a kind of sexual musical chairs. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bob Andy
- 2000
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Chuck Jones: Extremes and Inbetweens - A Life in Animation was originally telecast as a PBS "Great Performances" episode on November 22, 2000. Warner Bros. animator Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones created many cartoon characters, including Pepe Le Pew, Wile E. Coyote, and the Road Runner. A key member of the team that developed Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, Jones also directed more than 50 Bugs Bunny cartoons. In her paean to Jones, writer-producer-director Margaret Selby features a running interview with the 88-year-old Jones, as well as interviews with famous fans, including Hollywood luminaries Whoopi Goldberg, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, Ron Howard, Toy Story director John Lasseter, Steven Spielberg, and Robin Williams. Highlights include clips from such classic Jones cartoons including Rabbit of Seville, What's Opera, Doc?, One Froggy Evening, Duck Amuck, the original television version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Academy Award-winner The Dot and the Line. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chuck Jones, Leonard Maltin, (more)
Robin Williams' comic shtick sabotages any attempt at comic development in Harold Ramis' patchy comedy farce Club Paradise. Williams plays Jack Moniker, a Chicago fireman injured in the line of duty, who uses his disability money to open up a run-down Caribbean resort. Jack eagerly awaits the planeload of tourists who will be his first patrons. This group of low-rent jackanapes include Barry Nye (Rick Moranis) and Barry Steinberg (Eugene Levy), a couple of horny geek bachelors; Phillipa Lloyd (Twiggy) and Terry Hamlin (Joanna Cassidy) as a couple of gals on the make; and Linda White (Andrea Martin), as a bossy American tourist. While the tourists shindig around Jack's ramshackle resort, a revolution is brewing on the island headed by revolutionary Ernest Reed (Jimmy Cliff). Trying to prevent the revolutionary upheaval is the dissipated British governor-general of the island, Governor Anthony Cloyden Hayes (Peter O'Toole), and the pompous Prime Minister Solomon Gundy (Adolph Caesar). ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Peter O'Toole, (more)
- 1988
Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and Billy Crystal donate their time and talent to host Comic Relief in this 1988 production documenting the live charity event to benefit America's homeless. Directed by Walter C. Miller (who helmed many of TV's All in the Family episodes), this program includes humorous turns from over 40 stars of comedy. Among those performing in this program are Steve Allen, Richard Belzer, Sid Caesar, John Candy, George Carlin, and Martin Short. Director Miller also includes portraits of people in need, and of those who have already benefited from these performers' generosity. The organization Comic Relief has gone on to raise and distribute nearly 50 million dollars, providing direct health care services to homeless men, women, and children throughout the United States. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi
- 1987
Released by the now-defunct Simitar Entertainment rather than Rhino Video, which handles the other Comic Relief videos, Comic Relief II is featured on two separate 60-minute videos. A 1987 live charity event benefiting America's homeless, part one of Comic Relief II is hosted by Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and Billy Crystal, and features comic turns by Elayne Boosler, Louie Anderson, Judy Tenuta, and Michael J. Fox. Part two of Comic Relief II is a continuation of part one, boasting an all-star lineup that includes comic luminaries Richard Lewis, Steven Wright, Steve Allen, Arsenio Hall, and Roseanne. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi
- 1989
This video documents the third annual Comic Relief live benefit for America's homeless. Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and Billy Crystal return as hosts of Comic Relief in this 1989 event. Directed by Walter C. Miller (who helmed many of TV's All in the Family episodes), this program includes routines from such renowned comedy stars as Bob Newhart, Bob Saget, Steven Wright, and Bobcat Goldthwait. Director Miller also includes portraits of people in need, and of those who have already benefited from these performers' generosity. The organization Comic Relief has gone on to raise and distribute nearly 50 million dollars, providing direct health care services to homeless men, women, and children throughout the United States. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi
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