This past Monday evening the country was stunned with news of the passing of Academy Award winning actor Robin Williams at the age of 63. As reported by many news outlets, Williams’ death is the result of an apparent suicide after battling years of depression and substance abuse. Widely considered the funniest man alive in the mid-90’s, and also capable of tackling deep dramatic roles, Robin Williams leaves behind a wife and two children.
Capturing Williams’ impact on the entertainment world is a near impossible task. He was one of the best stand-up comedians ever, he starred in one of the most recognizable TV sitcoms ever as Mork (Mork & Mindy), and he raked in multiple awards for his performances on the big screen, including an Oscar for best supporting actor in Good Will Hunting. As is our custom at the passing of major movie stars, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on some of our favorite performances from Robin Williams.
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Gene
My personal choices for my favorite Robin Williams performances are quite easy. There are two that immediately rise to the top of my mind: Patch Adams and Good Will Hunting. I can’t add anything significant to what has already been said by thousands of people about those films, so I want to go a different route for this tribute. I want to remember Williams in a role that I think most accurately depicted his actual self, or at least that part of himself he showed to the public. I want to remember his role in Jack.
Jack is the story of a boy whose body ages at four times the normal rate, but his mind remains true to his actual age. At ten, Jack wants to play ball with his friends, but his body is limited to those capabilities of a middle-aged man. At high school graduation he has the appearance of an aged senior citizen, despite having the mind of an 18 year old. We see what appears to be a middle-aged man playing lazer tag with his mom at home. We see an apparent grown man dealing with making new friends and getting bullied with the nervousness and timidity of a child. We also see the true joy, laughter and rambunctiousness of a child shine through the body of a grown man. That is how I’ll always remember Robin Williams.
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Tres
I hate to see anyone leave this Earth before their time was due. I think Robin Williams has hit me the hardest though. Being a child of the early 70’s I remember one of my first “can’t miss” TV shows was Mork & Mindy. I was glued to that show and couldn’t stop laughing. He would make you laugh and then he would end the show talking to Orson and having a heart-felt lesson after each episode. Then he explodes on the screen with a Popeye that no one can match. Some people ridicule the Popeye movie because of how it was written, but take that away and compare Robin’s performance to a cartoon… AMAZING! Very fond childhood memories for me and to think he is now gone just seems so wrong.
The man was a maniac in performances and credits so I’m going to list the ones in chronological order that really stand out to me as, “YES! Great performance” for Mr. Williams: Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Dead Again, Hook, Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Jack, Flubber, Good Will Hunting, What Dreams May Come, Patch Adams, Bicentennial Man, Robots, Night of the Museum, August Rush, and The Angriest Man in Brooklyn. I could do a review on each of these movies for our blog. (I might actually do a couple in the future.) I am going to focus my main comments on 2 films; simply because I cannot choose one or the other.
Dead Poets Society: This movie came out the summer of after my senior year in high school. I had no interest in seeing it. It wasn’t until I got into my education classes and Dr. Isele found out I was a movie buff that I knew what the movie was even about. He talked me into renting it (which I did on VHS tape from Blockbuster Video) and I knew then and there that was the type of teacher I had to be. My classroom is NOT about all the information in books and absorbing facts to spit out. It’s about learning that information and seeing what each person can do with it and grow with it while applying it to their lives. John Keating loved his students and he enriched their lives every day with every lesson and was there for them as a person as well as a pupil. In return, his students grew as people and they loved him in return. I still get choked up today when I think about the boys standing on their desks to honor him.
The other movie is Good Will Hunting. Williams plays a completely different character. Sean Maguire becomes the counselor for a young Matt Damon (Will Hunting) who is a brilliant, but troubled young man. Williams missed the greatest baseball game in history to go meet a girl, a girl he later married. He had a troubled childhood, just as Will Hunting did, and he connected with him in a way that no other person ever had. This movie connects with me in a way that few movies can for personal reasons. But, in the same ways as Mr. Keating, Maguire focuses on the heart of the person.
No matter what your personal favorite is, he creates characters like no other. His talents will truly be missed in the movies. His ending hurts my heart and I won’t try to speculate. Prayers have been offered up though.
Carpe Diem, My friends.
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Elliott
Whenever I think of Robin Williams, my thoughts always go to the genie in Aladdin. Growing up, that was one of, if not my favorite Disney movie. Abu of course was my favorite character, but the genie came in a close second. Aside from making a great genie, he is was an excellent Teddy Roosevelt in the Night at the Museum. Many of his more popular movies I’ve never seen, but those I have seen were always well done and provided a good laugh and who can forget the best movie based on a boardgame, Jumanji! Considering he was known for his comedy, it’s ironic(not in a funny way) that he suffered from depression. It’s a sad reminder that nothing of this world can bring us true joy and happiness. Those can only be found in our heavenly father.
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Nate
I remember two particular characters Robin Williams played that I was aware of as a child: Mork from Mork and Mindy and Adrian Cronauer of Good Morning, Vietnam. I especially remember Mork’s reports to Orson; although I was so young that they made no sense to me at the time. I also remember walking around singing, “Ohh wee ohh, ohh Chi Minh!” from Good Morning, Vietnam; even though I had no idea who Ho Chi Minh was. I think that best characterizes my first experience with Robin Williams. To me he was an infectious personality whose comedy was largely incomprehensible because he was always going so dang fast; I just couldn’t keep up. Because he was known for his comedic roles, I never viewed him as anything other than “that comedian”. I remember that all changing when I saw him in Good Will Hunting. His portrayal of psychiatrist Sean Maguire was so subdued, so believable, so brilliant to me that I forgot I was even watching Robin Williams. His outstanding performance earned the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor that year. When I remember him, this is what I will always think of (warning: several instances of cursing after the 3 minute mark).
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Logan
Like most ‘90s kids, I watched a lot of movies growing up. A lot of them were Disney movies, too, but there’s always that one that stands out. That one that you watch over and over and over again, that starts to help frame how you see the world, that starts to, in a way, kind of define your childhood. For me, that movie was Aladdin. I have a very good memory for film that nearly approaches photographic, and I also had a hard time falling asleep when I was a kid. I watched the movie so much that I would play it in my head until I fell asleep. And the aspect of that film that made it so enchanting to me isn’t hard to piece together. It was Robin Williams’ brilliant portrayal of Genie. His comical, fun, and energetic genie was some of the most impressive voice acting you can find. I don’t know what Robin Williams’ personal life was like, but if nothing else, I’m very appreciative for what his work meant for my childhood.
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As most of our regular readers know, we look at movies from a Christian perspective. We don’t know if Robin placed his trust in Jesus, and it’s not our place to dissect that here. But, as with any passing of life comes the reminder that this life is too short. It is “like a vapor” (James 4:14). That feeling is especially strong when someone passes abruptly and unexpectedly. The words of Jesus are a good reminder for what we have to look forward to if we put our faith, hope and obedience in Him. “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you into myself, that where I am, you may be also.” (John 14:1-3). From all of us here at LTBM we give our thoughts and prayers to Robin’s family. We pray that they are comforted through this time of grief and suffering, and that through this trial they are reminded of their own mortality and draw near to God.
