GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1988 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: At some point GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM was
probably intended to be a biting indictment of Americans in
Vietnam. Instead it is a likable comedy with some unusual
twists on traditional plots. Robin Williams gets a chance to
do his brand of comedy. Rating: +2.
There is a spate of films coming out about the Vietnam experience. Most seem to focus on large aspects of the war. FULL METAL JACKET was spread between Marine training and the Tet Offensive. HANOI HILTON was about the POW experience. PLATOON put us into the boots of American ground troops. GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM is an exception. It is mostly about what would be a minor footnote to the war, a disc jockey (Adrian Cronauer, played by Robin Williams) brought in to keep the troops' morale up. Cronauer has to fight a separate war, not against the enemy but against his own immediate superiors, who want him to play music fit for elevators and to keep his humor toned down. Often in this sort of film it is the brass that does not understand the rebel and people on his own level defend him. One of the interesting reversals in GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM is that here the top brass want to keep the disc jockey. Far from the usual cliche of dehumanized generals making unfeeling decisions, this an anti-military film in which the highest-ranking officer is one of the heroes of the film.
There is another interesting reversal. Many war films have two plot lines, the main character's personal life and his professional life. But the personal plot line will have little to do with the war; only the professional life plot line will really have the war as an important element. THE CAINE MUTINY is a good example--the (superfluous) love story could easily have been moved to a non-war setting. GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM does just the reverse. The main plot line could have been moved to WNBC in New York without much change. It is the love story that really requires the Vietnam War setting.
Part of what bothers me about GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM is that it feels like it is rearing back to make some sort of powerful statement, but if the punch ever hit, I missed it. There is some talk about Americans seeing Vietnamese as animals, but much of the film makes the point that there are caring Americans and we see really only two who are not. There is a dab of "horrors of war" scenes but not much to emphasize the point. Director Barry Levison is used to making gentle human dramas like DINER and TIN MEN. His most biting film to date was AND JUSTICE FOR ALL and his heart just did not seem to be into making a bitter anti-American statement.
GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM leaves ample places for Robin Williams to "do his thing." He does wild improvisational comedy at the microphone, some quite good. It has the feel of being spontaneous and if it is, he must be some sort of genius. GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM is not the film it could have been, but deserves a low +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
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mtgzz!leeper@rutgers.rutgers.edu
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