Good Morning, Vietnam - Review

"Gooooooooooooooood morning, my fellow film fans!" Would you look at that? A war film that isn't is the told through the soldiers on the front lines or through the chopper gunner's line of sight, but rather through a radio DJ for the American army in Saigon played by the legend himself, Robin Williams. That's right a comedy in wartime. Robin Williams is so likable in everything he does and here he is downright hilarious. Just the way he speaks and the voices he does on the radio is so entertaining. Also, with him being a radio DJ, that gives a perfect opportunity for a great soundtrack and they use full advantage of it. I have always liked the pop and rock music of the Vietnam War era in films like this. Fun little side note, I actually own the vinyl soundtrack to this movie and it actually starts with Robin Williams opening monologue he does on the radio and then proceeds to the songs with his little jokes in between them. Super cool stuff, but back to the movie. Although him in the radio booth is hilarious stuff, this film actually gets a bit deeper than that when he falls in love with a Vietnamese girl and meets her family and gets to know the Vietnamese way of life. He learns their language, culture, eats their food as well as shows them a bit of American culture by teaching them slang and showing them how to play baseball. This film shows that humour is the best way to bring people together from all forms of life and of course, it's a Vietnam War movie, after all, shows us just a glimpse of the horrors of war and how it can tear families apart. It also shows us that it's not so black and white when it comes to determining who are the "real bad guys." This film shows all of that while still being entertaining, funny, and light-hearted. Don't worry, it's serious when it needs to be, but there is always that level of humour to help us along the journey. This film tells us that no matter where you are in life, sometimes all you need is a little laughter.