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Good Morning, Vietnam
1987 121 min United States of America R 18+
★7.9
Comedy, Drama, War
Director: Barry Levinson
Trailers
EN
EN
Teaser
Description
A disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humor.
Budget:
$13M
US Gross:
$123.92M
Worldwide:
$123.92M
Starring
Robin Williams
Actor
Forest Whitaker
Actor
Tom T. Tran
Actor
Awards
Golden Globe 1988
— Best Actor (Comedy or Musical)
BAFTA 1989
— Best Actor
BAFTA 1989
— Best Sound
Golden Globe 1988
— Best Actor (Comedy or Musical)
Key opinion
Good Morning, Vietnam is widely regarded as a career-defining showcase for Robin Williams, whose improvisational brilliance anchors the film's tonal shift between comedy and drama. Barry Levinson's direction successfully navigates the complex balance of war-time tragedy and satirical rebellion, creating a poignant exploration of humanity within a rigid military system.
| Acting | Robin Williams delivers a transcendent, career-defining performance that relies on raw, improvisational energy to anchor the film. | |
| Score | The soundtrack effectively utilizes rock and jazz to mirror the soldiers' need for solace and the protagonist's defiance of military rigidity. | |
| Theme | The film succeeds as a tragicomedy by contrasting the absurdity of bureaucracy with the harsh, encroaching realities of the Vietnam War. | |
| Direction | Barry Levinson deftly balances lighthearted radio humor with the darker, sobering consequences of combat and censorship. | |
| Ending | Opinions on the film's final act are split; some find the abrupt conclusion a fittingly realistic subversion of genre clichés, while others find the narrative resolution lacking. |