Oh, He's Just an Actor RIP Robin Williams

It is always a little strange when a celebrity dies. It’s not like we actually knew the person. They didn't come over for dinner or sit on our porch. However, it's not uncommon for us to grieve the loss of these people we didn’t “know”. I'm not talking about over the top, crazy, stalker-like grieving. I'm talking about a genuine sadness at the loss of someone we may not have “known” but our emotions knew greatly.

I first saw Robin Williams about 35 years ago when he guest starred on Happy Days. Later, Mork and Mindy was "must see tv" in our house. We had not seen anything like Mork and in a lot of ways we still haven’t.

Additionally, my older brother had Robin's live stand up album.  I have to admit that at 8 or 9 much of his comedy flew right over my head but I soon learned to appreciate it. Years later he filmed a comedy special at the Metropolitan Opera that is still as good as it gets. Manic, fast-paced, mile-a-minute comedy that is occasionally juvenile but more often poignant and hysterical. He would bounce from off the cuff observations about the chandeliers in the hall looking like Imelda Marcos' earrings to funny, but tragic stories about his addiction to cocaine.  His legendary stand-up career along with the years as co-host of “Comic Relief” with Whoopi and Billy Crystal was more than enough to put him on any list of America's greatest comedians.

But I’m a movie guy. As great as a comedian as Williams was to me he was even a better actor. That is not to say that every film he made was cinema gold, far from it. However, when he was good, He was very, very good and could more than hold his own with ANYONE. If you are not familiar with Robin Williams or only know him for certain things I would suggest a few films to make su otre you see exactly how good he was.

Good Morning Vietnam
Good Will Hunting
Awakenings
Dead Poet’s Society
The Fisher King
Patch Adams and
The Bird Cage

I admit it. I feel a little silly mourning the loss of an actor. Maybe it is because we live in such a “cult of personality world”. We celebrate and sometimes idolize our celebrities all while we envy and begrudge them for their “easy lives”. Seriously, why would anyone be sad because someone they never met, who made tons of money for just acting had passed away?

Well, Robin Williams has, over the years, made me laugh uncontrollably; cry with both sadness and happiness; think to understand and cheer with triumph.

How many people in your life have you "known" who never solicited even one of those emotions? Yet I would not  feel silly about mourning their passing.

So, while I am not ready to shave my head and curse the movie gods for taking a legend by building a funeral pyre on Hollywood Blvd. I am ready to say that someone whose work I have enjoyed for over 30 years has tragically died today and for that I am sad.

Unsolicited Movie Review – Guardians of the Galaxy

The best movie I ever “heard” about was, without a doubt,  “Legends of the Fall”.

The most disappointing movie I ever “saw” was, without a doubt, “Legends of the Fall”.

Some of my favorite films are ones where I had no expectations walking into the theater. I suppose it is human nature to build up your hopes so high that it’s practically impossible for anything to live up to the hype. Conversely, I have loved films others completely panned.  Now that I think about it maybe I’m just a contrarian.

Did I mention just how much “Legends of the Fall” sucked?  Oh, I didn’t. Well maybe because there is no way to describe the level of SUCK that movie achieved.

Anyway, after hearing how awesome the new Marvel Comics film “Guardians of the Galaxy” was going to be (mostly from the studio itself), I was a little nervous. I intentionally read the articles, reviews and observations of last night’s Sneak Previews with a grain of salt. I don’t know if I had unrealistically overblown expectations or if I was an Opinion Virgin whose predilections were as pure as the driven snow. Maybe I'll never know.

What I do know is that “Guardians of the Galaxy” is as fun and entertaining of a movie as you’ll see this summer. Marvel continues an amazing streak of successful adaptations of its cache of comic book series. Where Guardians strays from the formula is that all the other movies were from well established brands. Spiderman, The Hulk, Captain America, X-Men etc were all well known in popular culture outside of the comic book community. Guardians is significantly lesser known. So would the story work? Would audiences embrace unfamiliar characters? Would the adaptation be entertaining or just cheesy? All the questions were answered and answered correctly. Top to bottom the film delivers.

The story is compelling. The script is tight and efficiently tells enough backstory to set up the series without cutting into the meat of the action. The characters are amazingly likable and have sharp chemistry.  The jokes work and the action was exciting.  Oh and Green women are pretty hot. Who knew?

For fear of over-recommending the film and turning Guardians into an overblown wall of suck for you like "Legends of the Fall" is for me I will leave my review with this. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It was well worth the price of admission.