8
Disney +

Not being much of a fan of Robin Williams' stand-up comedy routines, I wasn't sure whether Good Morning, Vietnam would work for me. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was, I think because this is a war film first and a comedy film second. Yes, the famous ab-libbed radio sections are very much the centrepieces of the film, and as expected I didn't find them especially funny (they largely involve Williams talking really fast and doing bad impressions, as well as a lot of references specific to that time period), however, crucially, I could see why the real audience within the context of the film, the American soldiers in Vietnam, would have loved it. It's crass, it's bawdy, it's defiantly anarchic. What Good Morning, Vietnam does brilliantly is contrast these freewheeling antics against the staid, dull, conventional programming imposed by over-promoted officers who have lost all connection with their men on the ground.

This subversive streak runs throughout the film, which in truth is a satire that aims to prick the pomposity and hypocritical nature of the US Army command. This is shown for example by the censoring of any remotely negative news stories, as well as the clear discomfort that Cronaeur's superiors have to his show. These are people who automatically reject what they can't understand or which falls outside of their own life experience- which does not exactly bode well when leading troops from all walks of life in a war in a very foreign country.

Good Morning, Vietnam is also a character study. Williams' Adrian Cronauer arrives in Saigon as, essentially, the same cartoon character that he portrays whilst on the air: loud, over the top, excitable, sarcastic. But by the film's end we see him leave still defiant, but deflated, a man who has known betrayal, death and heartbreak. Williams' talents as a dramatic actor were always underappreciated in my view, and Good Morning, Vietnam is an absolute showcase for those talents.

Furthermore, the film is notable for showing the Vietnamese characters in a generally favourable light and as, well, actual human beings. This is not something that we should have to give a film credit for, and there are certainly times where it lapses into lazy stereotypes, however I think within the context of the time at which it was made the portrayal is notable.

Good Morning, Vietnam is a little rough around the edges for sure, and certain aspects haven't aged well: there is unpleasant casual homophobia and misogyny in some of Williams' routines, as well as a scene where he for all intents and purposes stalks a young Vietnamese girl he sees in the street. But for every scene like that, there are some genuinely laugh out loud moments (Lt. Hauk's disastrous attempts at comedy reminded me how cringingly hilarious it can be to watch someone who trying and failing to be funny) as well as poignant and moving ones (such as the montage of war ironically set against Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World - yes a bit cliché in 2021 but still surprisingly powerful). And even the aforementioned stalking scene, which leads to a clumsy courtship of sorts, leads to a quite mature conclusion. Good Morning, Vietnam is an anti-war film told with heart and defiance- I was really impressed.