Huh?
The Night Listener?
Bicentennial Man?
Jakob the Liar?
Patch Adams?
What Dreams May Come?
:shudder:
Generally, he does suck. However, his Broadway(?) DVD has some good moments and the piece where he parodies going down on a woman and all its perils is pretty damn funny.
Maybe not all of them, but I give you:
Dead Poets Society
Good Will Hunting
One Hour Photo
…and I liked What Dreams May Come!
Ugh my entire family LOVES him and they think I’m a complete humor-less fool because I don’t. Their theory is he isn’t ‘British enough’ for me, since I like a lot of British comedies. No, I don’t like him because I find him loud, annoying and just plain stupid. Of course, I’m biased because I think impressions are the lowest form of comedy and can’t stand watching any comic who uses those as the base of their comedy.
My SO loathes him and makes me turn the channel when he is on television.
I think he can be funny, but have to admit he is turning into a one-trick pony with his riffs.
His films of late suck big time…it is as if he just can’t say no to any film offer, no matter how bad…and then the directors think, “let Robin go off on his tangents, it has to be comedy gold!” Wrong.
Has has done a few really good films in the past, so who knows, maybe he’ll do another one someday.
I’ve seen parts of World According to Garp. He was pretty good in it. I liked him in Good Morning, Vietnam…not sure if that counts as super serious, though. He did get a lot of praise for Dead Poets Society. I’m not sure if this counts as “kicking ass,” though.
He also does a big, loud, shouty black man.
I see it the opposite way: I’ve laughed at his standup, but I really don’t see the point of Good Morning Vietnam.
Fascinating and well-written article, BTW. I hadn’t read Radar before, but I’m hooked now.
Yeah, of course everyone on coke is exactly like a specific well-known comedian. Nevermind that probably half the people in the comedy scene in the 80s and 90s was on coke at some point and they don’t all act like Robin Williams.
Let’s not forget the southern faith healer which scientists have determined was only funny once at exactly 3.34 pm, September 9, 1982; but which Mr. Williams has been doing professionally for well over 20 years.
Without being rude, that is the very definition of not British… 
OB
Robin Williams not funny
Sun Bright
Birds Fly
Fish Swim
I was going to mention this bit. Fucking hilarious.
I agree, he can be hot and cold, but mostly I like him.
Robin Williams was very, very funny for a couple of years in the late '70s, although admittedly he’s been coasting on the rep created then for the 30 years since. So “is not” I’ll give you, but “and never has been” is just wrong.
[hijack] Sorry, unless you want back issues, you’re going to have to kick it cold turkey. I bought myself a subscription to Radar as a moving gift in September; I got a card from them last week telling me the October/November issue was the last one, and I had a choice of getting the rest of my subscription in Star, Men’s Health or Shape magazine, with the excreable Star being the default. Lucky Mr. singular is getting Men’s Health, and the planet has lost another great magazine.:mad:[/hijack]
And Robin Williams sucks donkey balls (with an occasional piece of comedy shrapnel hitting the mark).
So am I the only Doper that enjoyed his two hour interview on "“Inside the Actors Studio”?
I loved his stand-up in the 70s but I agree his more recent work is nothing compared to it.
Saying RW is not funny is somewhat like saying Bill Cosby is not funny because you saw him last week or George Carlin over the past few years.
Well…not really…there is only one Cos…but RW was funny back in the day. Last 10-15 years?..not really.
There are times when I think that no comedic style ages well.
I have listened to old Jack Benny stuff and sometimes laughed.
I have also found some of it to be among the most boring, tedious, childish stuff imaginable. But, he had 30 million people captivated at the time, and I don’t flatter myself that I am objectively smarter than all of them.
Don’t get me started on famous “comedians” like Red Skelton or Jack Parr or others of that era. It’s just impossible to re-create the Zeitgeist that made them seem funny to your parents or grandparents.
Having said that, RW never struck me as anything but a manic clown. And I hate clowns.
You’re telling me this isn’t the mark of genius?
I can take him or leave him in most roles, although I’ve always found him entertaining. And Aladdin rules, darnit.
He’s never been funnier than when he was on Whose Line Is It Anyway, though. (Disclaimer: You should probably find Whose Line Is It Anyway funny too to enjoy it.)
As far as I’m concerned, you could replace “Robin Williams” with “Eddie Murphy”, “Dan Ackroyd”, “Steve Martin”, “Mike Meyers”, “Chevy Chase” and just about any 70’s/80’s comedian and have exactly the same thread. Comedians that get out of stand-up comedy just don’t stay fresh and funny for long. Even George Carlin got stale.