# Guess what Robin Williams? You're not funny **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2000, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076 "2000-10-31T14:13:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/21 "2000-10-31T18:51:39Z")
Sorry, you two, but EVERYONE sucked in WHAT DREAMS MAY COME. I really hate when Williams pulls that heartwarming shit…BICENTENNIAL MAN, DOCTOR CLOWN (or whatever the fuck that was called…all I can remember is the ad with the stethoscope and the clown nose). “I can’t go on…I’ll go on.” {snicker} Oh, is THAT true or what…? God, the guy SLAYS me! ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/22 "2000-10-31T18:57:13Z")
Ike: Patch Adams. Which actually wasn’t a bad movie and, considering it was based on actual events, I’d say he did pretty well. That’s just me though. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/23 "2000-10-31T19:02:53Z")
Steven Wright. Sometimes. That’s it. ---
**Author:** ![DavisMcDavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@DavisMcDavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavisMcDavis)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/24 "2000-10-31T19:08:59Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\* I really hate when Williams pulls that heartwarming shit._\* I don’t mind him on occasion in a comedy. I actually liked Mrs. Doubtfire, and I don’t mind him in “Toys” although whenever someone’s kind enough to give Joan Cusack a decent role I tend to forgive the rest of the movie. See, there’s someone who’s funny. Joan Cusack. Name a performance of hers that was bad (not movie, performance). Have to think about it, right? Name a Robin Williams performance you hated - having trouble picking amongst them, aren’t you? But nothing quite irritates me as much as seeing Robin Williams play the exact same dramatic role over and over using his one dramatic facial expression - the patented Robin Williams “I care” face. He wears it throughout Good Will Hunting, the previews (and possibly the movie, which I strenously avoided going to or even seeing previews for after being subjected to them at the theater once) for Doctor Clown. Actually, I now can’t remember the name either - PLEASE DON’T REMIND ME - my brain is merciful in its forgetfulness sometimes. What else? Ah yes, Awakenings. He just talks really slowly and earnestly and you just know he cares **deeply**. Drives me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/25 "2000-10-31T19:17:05Z")
**Exhibit A** _Being Human Bicentennial Man the birdcage Cadillac Man Fathers’ Day Flubber Hook Jack Jakob the Liar Jumanji Patch Adams Toys What Dreams May Come_ Can any one star claim as many truly unbearable movies in the 90s as these? Especially since about the only good movies he’s been in in the last decade either featured only his voice (_Aladdin_) or a cameo (_Hamlet_), and even then, he’s done voiceovers and cameos in bad movies also (_Ferngully, Nine Months_). And please, please let’s not mention the monstrously overrated _Good Will Hunting_ and _Mrs. Doubtfire_. **Exhibit B** _Awakenings The Fisher King_ Neither are great movies, but they do show him channeling both his subdued and manic side, respectively, toward interesting ends. But I think it’s no accident that his co-leads in each film were both very good (and much more consistent) actors themselves. The fact of the matter is that he’s trying to pull a Tom Hanks–transforming a stand-up/TV comic career to the big screen, first with lame-ass comedies and then turning all sensitive on us. The difference is that Hanks (of whom I’m no big fan) has shown real intelligence in picking out the right film roles for himself, while Williams has shown nothing of the sort (or at least not since _Moscow on the Hudson_). I now notice he’s the narrator for the already bizarre Spielberg/Kubrick/Haley Joel Osment production of _A.I._ I can’t wait \ ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/26 "2000-10-31T19:17:07Z")
Who do I find funny? Well—of the modern, post-Gracie Allen crowd—Margaret Cho, Dennis Miller (before his unfortunate phone-commercial gaffe), Spaulding Gray (OK, I KNOW he’s a “performance artiste”), the great and glamorous Lypsinka. As for Jim Carrey, he has not yet discovered the difference between “acting” and “making faces.” By the way, Adam Sandler is actually a very nice guy—I had lunch with him when I interviewed him for “Movieline” a couple of years back. I think his work sucks, but he’s a nice fellah off-camera. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/27 "2000-10-31T19:33:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > **Who do I find funny? —Margaret Cho** Now here is someone I don’t understand why they are considered funny. I have seen her do stand-up (stereotypical jokes about her Korean heritage) and I have seen her try to do a sit-com (stereotypical jokes about her Korean heritage). She did not even get a smirk out of me. I thought she only got air time because someone with clout said “We need more minority comedians on TV”. Sorry for the hi-jack, go ahead and get back to bashing Robin Williams. ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/28 "2000-10-31T19:36:25Z")
What do I intensely dislike about Robin Williams? See most of archiveguy’s exhibit A (so I liked ‘Jack’- fucking sue me). His Nineties drive toward canonization has consisted of ‘heartwarming’ mush that, I’m almost certain, will send him straight down the other way when the big day comes. That takes care of a lot of it. But there’s something more, much more, which settles the question for me. Talk shows. Seriously, when this guy is on a talk show, any talk show, have a wager with your friends on how long it will take him to do a dick joke. Any guesses of over four minutes are doomed to failure. jb p.s.- Cobra Commander went the wrong way with Serpentor. Dude, leave Sgt. Slaughter’s DNA out of that shit. You wanna take over the world, clone Jerry Lewis, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Gallagher, and high energy prop comic Carrot Top all into one guy. Suckpentor. global domination will soon be yours. ---
**Author:** ![momcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@momcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/momcat)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/29 "2000-10-31T20:00:11Z")
As for me, I’ve found that what I find funny has changed over the years. I thought Robin Williams was hysterical in the first season (and ONLY the first season!) of Mork and Mindy. Now, I see reruns and it’s all sooooo lame. Most of his movies are a waste of time. I never in a million years would have predicted that I would like Jim Carey but I laughed my ass off at the first Ace Ventura movie and at The Mask. Just this past New Year’s Eve, we stayed home where there were a minimum of drunk, crazy people (just us 😉 ) and I wound up watching a marathon of 3 Stooges shorts and loving every minute of it. I couldn’t stand them when I was younger. I’ve always thought Steven Wright was funny. And I can’t stand Dennis Miller. If only he was half as funny and clever as he thinks he is… MomCat ---
**Author:** ![Shadowfox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Shadowfox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowfox)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/30 "2000-10-31T20:01:56Z")
Okay, I admit it. Robin Williams makes me cringe while trying to watch him do interviews. But I happen to like the great majority of his movies. I never saw Bicentennial Man, but I heard it wasn’t very good, so I guess I didn’t miss much. ArchiveGuy forgot “Dead Poets Society” in his list. That happens to be one of my favorite movies. Yes, it is a drama, but Robin Williams has some of the best comedic lines of his career in that movie. Somebody mentioned Tom Hanks. I absolutely love him as a dramatic actor, but I never thought he was a particularly good comedian. The same could be said for Jim Carrey. I think he will eventually become a very respected dramatic actor, but his comedy schitck is just dumb. I could name a lot of famous comedians who just don’t do it for me at all. Margaret Cho is one of them. So is Sandra Bernhardt, Rita Rudner, Jerry Lewis, the late Sam Kinison (the constant screaming was a complete turn-off), Denis Leary, etc. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/31 "2000-10-31T23:17:43Z")
> [@](#): > > ArchiveGuy forgot “Dead Poets Society” in his list. No, I didn’t. I listed films from the 90s, and _DPS_ came out in 1989. However, I personally find _DPS_ insufferably smug and patronizing, with a cop-out, meaningless ending and contrived plot elements that hammer away at its points mercilessly. It’s a knee-jerk paean to the teacher-as-saint cliche without approaching neither its characters nor situations with anything less than self-indulgent reverence. And Mr. Williams cannot refrain from indulging in his shtick (which I suppose I found significantly less funny than shadowfox). I know quite a number of people embrace this crass and manipulative movie (my wife included), but I don’t think it (like _Good Will Hunting_) is anything major to brag about in Mr. Williams’ cv. My $0.02. ---
**Author:** ![Catrandom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@Catrandom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catrandom)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2000, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/32 "2000-10-31T23:37:33Z")
Myself, I think Robin Williams was one of the two serious errors that mar the otherwise superb Branagh Hamlet. Among other things, Williams was miles too old for the part of Osric, a useless and naive young dandy. Williams on talk shows is appallingly vulgar and not the least bit funny, and in heartwarming mode he’s unspeakable. Jim Carrey: I’ve never seen any of his purported comedies, so went into Truman Show with few preconceptions. I actually saw it because I’m a longtime admirer of Peter Weir, and I think it was a terrific movie, and Carrey was superb in it. If that’s evidence of his abilities, he’s as good an actor as anybody out there, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/33 "2000-11-01T02:18:53Z")
I think Williams is a very funny guy in standup and in interviews; he’s one of the best at improvisational comedy (next to Jonathan Winters, of course). But he has done a long list of stinker movies. His best films are usually (except for _The Fisher King_) the ones where he’s uncredited (Dead Again) or has a small role. As a lead, he oversentimental (not to mention that improvisational talent doesn’t translate well onto the movie screen). OTOH, Steve Martin was a very undistingushed comedian (Dan Ackroyd did the “Wild and Crazy Guy” bit better), who developed into a first-class film actor. I have the same reservations everyone else does about Jim Carrey. He should be playing light comedy, but there isn’t much call for that. Can’t abide Sandler or Macdonald. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/34 "2000-11-01T03:31:32Z")
I think Williams can be very funny, except that he has risen to become the archduke of exhuberant banality. I can rest assured that any movie he stars in is going to be pap. Eddie Murphy is following Williams down the same road, only with fart jokes. Jim Carrey is very good at physical comedy, but I’m just not that enthusiastic about him. I’m not even sure I’d rate him up there with Laurel and Hardy, whose physical comedy remains unmatched by anything movies have to offer now. ---
**Author:** ![APB9999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB9999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB9999)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/35 "2000-11-01T05:04:27Z")
I thought Robin Williams was funny when I was younger, but he has paled over the years (or my sense of humor has changed). I still think he is one of the best at improv, but he needs something to keep him from spiraling into crass banality, like the reins of censors. The two movies he was funniest in, IMO, were Aladdin (in which the jokes were greatly enhanced by the animation), and Good Morning Vietnam. I didn’t much care for the latter as a movie, but Williams had some good lines in it. In both cases, the best comedy of his characters was improvised by him on the spot, not scripted. Overall, though, he’s not as funny as his early promise. Jim Carey isn’t naturally funny. He has timing, but his manic style seems so put-on and forced. Especially when he plays someone stupid, like in Dumb&Dumber; man, that movie sucked. However, giving credit where it is due, the Rhinocerous birthing scene in Ace Ventura (or maybe the sequel, I forget now) had me absolutely on the floor. He was okay in the Mask, too. ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/36 "2000-11-01T06:20:29Z")
I love Norm McDonald. Robin Williams, um, nope. He always seems like he tries too hard. ---
**Author:** ![SqrlCub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SqrlCub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SqrlCub)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/37 "2000-11-01T14:46:57Z")
Dear Mermaid and Psychos R Us: My request did not arrive at midnight as promised. Did you find out that I am not capable of providing a first born since I will never be able to have children? I find this type of behaviour abhorrent and wish to receive complaint forms 6893A (the long one) and form 8942CCC (the one that specifies problems with icepick wielding psychopaths). I did meet up with a person with an icepick last night but I doubt that your company is the one who sent them and really his certifiable psycopathy and professional license as he seemed quite nice when we chatted over scones and tea and he kept sticking his icepick in the cheese rather than the appropriate eyeballs or ice. To continue, as I feel I have been discriminated against since I am not able to provide a first born, I have since provided your company’s not so noble name to The Better Business Bureau of this state, the ACLU, and have also contracted a private lawyer who specializes in personal/business law. I. L. Suemore will be in contact with you in the next 10 business days. I plan to be fully compensated by the lack of service and discriminatory issues that your company has shown against me. Talk to my lawyer. Sincere Hugs! Sqrl ---
**Author:** ![SqrlCub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SqrlCub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SqrlCub)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/38 "2000-11-01T14:49:24Z")
The people whom I find funny that I can think of off the top of my head are as follows: Steven Wright Dana Gould (sp?) John Lyman (sp?) Bill Waterson (Calvin and Hobbes) And the cast of the Young Ones There are others but those are the ones off the top of my head. HUGS! Sqrl ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/39 "2000-11-01T16:49:45Z")
SqrlCub, Dan Gould is **very** funny; you are right about that. Why he doesn’t get more exposure, I’ll never know. Robin Williams is currently so unfunny that even the things he did that I used to think were funny are no longer funny. I avoid his movies like the plague. Jim Carrey, well . . . his stuff makes me laugh. I don’t know if that means he’s funny or I’m stupid, but the net effect is the same so it hardly matters. _Dumb & Dumber_ had me, in many cases, busting my gut with laughter. Norm McDonald is, for some reason, very funny to me. Sandler I can take or leave. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076/40 "2000-11-01T16:57:18Z")
I am grateful to Norm McDonald for the, ah, exposure his prime-time sitcom gave to that fine thespian, Nikki Cox. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-robin-williams-youre-not-funny/39076.md?page=3)