[I wrote most of this post back in January. Hence why a lot of the references are somewhat dated]
After Sunday's football game, I turned the TV to ABC as we often do before shutting it off for the night. "Mrs. Doubtfire" had an hour left and as soon as I started watching, I knew I wouldn't be able to resist watching the rest of it...
I have no real reason for wanting to write this post. It's not anywhere near his birthday or the anniversary of his passing. Maybe it just occurred to me in that moment that I never did a tribute post for him back in 2014 and he very much deserves one.
Despite how annoying it is for him to always be #1 on Watchmojo videos when they revolve around celebrity voice actors, he is #1 for a reason.
I was born in the 80's so I'm very much a fan of John Hughes movies and the kinds of artists you'd find on MTV- back when it was about music.
However, I grew up in the 90's so Robin Williams was someone I became familiar with very quickly. "Aladdin" was the first movie I saw in a movie theater and "Mrs. Doubtfire" was one of my favorite movies as a kid. Both still hold up to this day, very much thanks to his depth of talent.
Later on, I saw 'Dead Poets Society"- another grade A performance. "Good Will Hunting" I'll have to revisit because it didn't leave much of an impression, most likely because I saw it on cable with too many commercials.
We all have those moments where we remember where we were when we found out certain celebrities died.
I just remember getting the news that morning at work and it was the strangest thing. That day, it felt like the air got sucked out of the room or some joy was lost from the world... that feeling I remember more than anything else about that day.
It's even harder when someone dies by suicide and you're left with more questions than answers. He's one of three names I could list where the news came completely out of nowhere and something felt like it had been lost. And you can't help wondering if it was something recently that broke them or it had been ongoing for a while.
In his case, it came out later that he'd suffered from health issues that were affecting his ability to be what he's best known for: being funny and able to improvise at the drop of a hat.
One particular quote that's come up multiple times in social media and otherwise was him saying:
"I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy because they know what it's like to feel absolutely worthless and they don't want anyone else to feel like that."
When Twitch (runner up on So You Think You Can Dance long before he became Ellen's sidekick on her talk show) was reported to have died by suicide, this quote felt so relevant. He also brought joy to a lot of people doing what he's known for and being an overall sweet guy. It's sad to think how you don't know until it's too late what some people struggle with.
For Robin Williams, his comedic chops and ability to improvise were like his superpower. So it had to have been terrifying and debilitating to consider the reality of not having that anymore.
As funny as he was, though, I think what resonated the most with me was how his heart showed in everything he did. I may not have seen a lot of his work but I've seen enough to see his heart shine through every role.
In Good Will Hunting, I just know he was the supportive mentor character and he won the Oscar for it.
But it was probably similar to his role in Dead Poet's Society, but multiplied by a million.
Dead Poet's Society overall is a good movie... up until the last half hour. Sure, Peter Keating left his mark but it was still unfair that he got fired. I don't know if it was because Neil's family paid endowments to the school or other parents had raised complaints of him "corrupting the youth" or some sort of BS.
I'm not sure if this is true or not, but from what I've seen in movies since where a teenager has unsupportive parents when they want to pursue their own path... every time, they come around at the end and all is right with the world. I'd read somewhere how there's an unwritten rule in movies that bad guys do not get away with their misdeeds and "It's a Wonderful Life" was the reason for it. It wouldn't surprise me if a similar doctrine wasn't passed after Neil's suicide. All things considered, I'm kinda surprised I enjoyed That 70's Show because Kurtwood Smith's role in that movie did not make me a fan.
I don't know if Robin Williams was the person who created the "unconventional teacher changes students' lives" archetype but he's definitely one of the first to do it.
Honestly, if it's reprehensible to help students to think outside the box and to give them support when they don't feel supported by their own families, people like Peter Keating are too good for this world and we don't deserve them.
What makes "Mrs. Doubtfire" stand out among all the roles I'd seen him in on screen... I cannot see anyone else doing this role and making it not only believable but make it enjoyable and all the other emotions that come with it.
If you look at it with today's sensibilities where people are just too oversensitive about so many things, sure, it has its problems. But I'll always choose to look at it the way I did back then. Heck, I find even more to enjoy about his performance because I'm old enough to appreciate where he's coming from.
[Some present day comments to add]
Speaking of "Mrs. Doubtfire." we recently came across a clip on YouTube that further exemplified what an amazing person Robin Williams was.
Sally Field was on Kelly Clarkson's show talking about her different roles. With this movie, she talked about filming the court room scene where Daniel loses custody of his children. That day, she found out her dad had a stroke and she had to make the decision to stop life support. She hadn't told anyone but Robin Williams approached, intuitively knowing something wasn't right. She explained the situation and he asked the filmmakers to let her go home for the day.
That was just one of those huge wow moments...
We recently watched "Good Morning, Vietnam" this year. It was my first time seeing it.
While it wasn't a straight-up comedy, Robin Williams did his thing with this role. He played a DJ who worked at a Vietnam-based radio station for the US troops. The person was a real guy but I'm sure a lot of creative license was taken so Robin Williams could put his unique spin on it.
Two things I found interesting. This was at a time where rock n' roll music was still somewhat taboo and it was slowly being integrated into the rotations at this station.
But also the extent of censorship going on. There was a bombing in town that he was present for and the army forbade him to bring it up on the radio station. Naturally, he found his own way to talk about it and it wound up getting him fired. Unlike Dead Poet's Society, at least that was somewhat justified.
By the time I'm getting back to this and finally posting it- the 12th anniversary of his passing is a week from today.
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