Mobithailand 'Good Morning Vietnam', starring the late American comedian and movie mega-star, Robin Williams, is probably the most telling and memorable anti-war film made about the Vietnam war.I have mixed feelings about Williams as a comedian – I suppose I struggle a little with him in much the same way as Americans struggle with many British comics. He was undoubtedly a very gifted, genuinely funny man and when I succeeded in following his very fast repartee, I can laugh along with the best of them. But sometimes, his delivery is fast, and so 'American' that I just can't follow what he is saying, so most of his clever humour goes over my head. I do remember once watching him being interviewed on UK's Michael Parkinson chat show, some years ago and he was utterly hilarious and took the whole show over with his brilliant antics and 'one liners'. Maybe he slowed down his delivery a bit for us slow-witted Brits. He is also no slouch as a movie actor and has a string of successful hits to his name. I was never a great fan of Mrs. Doubtfire but I thought his performance in Dead Poets Society was truly inspirational.I like Williams a lot in Good Morning Vietnam and his wacky, spontaneous sense of humour was absolutely perfect for the role of the irreverent, entertaining DJ who was shipped over to Saigon to shake things up at the armed services radio station. The movie is based on the true experiences of a DJ who was sent there during the early days of the war, and he states that the story is about 40% accurate – but which 40%? Of course, we will never know. I still had problems with Williams' rapid-fire delivery and 'one-liners', when he was broadcasting 'on air' and sometimes I was lucky if I caught one joke in five of his deliveries. But that didn't matter, as he was in character and was playing the part of this crazy, funny DJ and I have no doubt that the GI's had no problems in understanding what he was saying.Interestingly, like The Deer Hunter, the entire Vietnam sequences (which are prevalent throughout the movie) were all shot in Thailand. I had not realized this until I read the closing credits, although I should have known something was amiss - the traffic was all driving on the left-hand side, whereas in Vietnam they drive on the right…. The Deer Hunter did not really deal with the Vietnam war as such, but merely used the war as a background to show the effects the war had on a group of blue-collar workers from America's hinterland. 'Good Morning Vietnam' on the other hand, was clearly an anti-war, anti-military bullshit-bureaucracy, where tin-pot, ignorant, myopic officers abused the power they had over their fellow soldiers. We can make some allowances for a certain degree of dramatic licence in the interest of a good story. But even so, the background to the movie was totally believable and certainly provided an interesting insight into how seeds were being sown, which would eventually lead to America's greatest military disaster. When the Williams character arrived in Saigon in 1965, the conflict in Vietnam was regarded as a local little skirmish, but by the time he was thrown out of the country, it had already developed into a full-scale war, even though news of the daily bombings in Saigon by Viet Cong terrorists and the general war escalation was kept from the local radio airwaves.Ironically, along with many other milestones, the Vietnam War eventually became the first war where the world could watch the 'action' from the front lines as they ate their dinner at home every night. It was the first time that unimpeded access was granted to journalists and TV crews.'Good Morning Vietnam' is funny, entertaining, sad and thought- provoking in equal measures. Enough time has now passed for the viewer to resist the urge to become too judgmental about the 'villains' of the piece' – the US military; but nevertheless, it remains an interesting film which helps us to understand why America's 'Dunkirk' will probably remain part of their psyche for many years to come. If you haven't yet seen it, I recommend you give it a go.

ofpsmith Good Morning Vietnam is a masterpiece. It's funny, but at the same time shows the war from the eyes of our protagonist Airman First Class Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams). Cronauer is a military DJ sent to tell jokes and report the news in Vietnam. But as soon as he starts his superiors Lieutenant Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) and Sergeant Major Phillip Dickerson (JT Walsh) are angered at Cronauer's unorthodox music and off-color jokes. But the movie's best parts are the scenes where Cronauer does his job as a DJ. It's really funny. This is one of Williams's best performances. The acting from everyone else is also really good. Good Morning Vietnam is really just a great classic Williams comedy.

bigverybadtom This movie is based on the true story of an US Air Force man transferred from Crete to Vietnam in 1965 to be the new DJ of the US Army radio station, and when he goes on the air for the first time, he refuses to follow the dull format of the previous DJ or play the dull music that had been played. In the movie, the new DJ is in fact encouraged by his fellow enlisted soldiers to play contemporary pop music from Motown and The Beach Boys and engage in rapid-fire comedy patter. Various military people all laugh at the new DJ's verbal antics, but as might be expected, the military higher-ups are not pleased with the new DJ's irreverent program.A good potential idea, but poorly utilized. Robin Williams' routine was reportedly ad-libbed, but his comedy routine failed to be funny. The soldiers are all shown laughing, but one gets the idea that they do so because that is what they were hired to do. Rapid-fire comedy and silly verbal antics can be hilarious, but Williams was simply dull and boring, as if he wasn't sure exactly what he was supposed to do. I didn't bother to finish the film; what I saw of it shouted that it was going to be standard and clichéd, and what good is it to watch a comedian who is not funny?I wonder what the real-life DJ was like. He certainly must have been funnier.

AidanKnightly This is my first review that I'm going to write seriously so be gentle. I am known as the the guy who will try to like everything and thank the lord, this movie is one of them. I saw the cast and the "pop culture" quotes such as "You are more desperate need of a blow-job than any white man in America" and figured it would be a good watch. It starts of sort of...boring? I guess is the best way to put it. Robin Williams, god rest his soul, was talking too fast as usual and nothing really stuck. Things really started to stick when he met Tuan, a young Vietmanese fellow who he would endure much with. Much of the story involves this boy, and I won't spoil everything but the movie really struck a cord with me when Williams character was saved by Tuan when Jimmy Wah's bar was bombed. Seeing Wah absolutely crushed, confused, and angry was a startling change from the happy, go-lucky Jimmy we've seen. The undertones of racism and America's true influence on the Vietmanese moral really hit too. It became incredibly powerful, and more than I bargained for, but still retaining the humour RW always promises in his movies. Forest Whitaker was a delight, being the meek, by the book US army guy, turned into a man who really grew into his role of doing things the morally right way as opposed to regulation. I find this movie misses a bit on plot in the first half which is the only reason I'm giving it a 7. If the start really ripped into the true horror Of Vietnam, like what was demonstrated when "Oh What A Wonderful Life" wailed in the background while we were subjected to violence and horror in the foreground. More of those types of moments early on would have helped set the underlying and foreshadowing, but the shift from RW slapstick to "Oh shoot I'm really in deep now" was truly remarkableI'm the guy who will try to like everything and this is one of those movies that I do like.Thank you for your time and stay tuned for more reviews from this somewhat cranky and meta-cognitive guy.