View Poll Results: What is your favorite Robin Williams role?

Voters
96. You may not vote on this poll
  • Mork from Ork

    7 7.29%
  • Popeye

    0 0%
  • TS Garp (The World According to Garp)

    4 4.17%
  • Adrian Cronauer (Good Morning Vietnam)

    13 13.54%
  • John Keating (Dead Poets)

    15 15.63%
  • Dr. Sayer (Awakenings)

    2 2.08%
  • Parry (The Fisher King)

    3 3.13%
  • Peter Pan (Hook)

    8 8.33%
  • Genie (Aladdin)

    6 6.25%
  • Mrs. Doubtfire

    6 6.25%
  • Alan Parish (Jumanji)

    0 0%
  • Armand Goldman (Birdcage)

    2 2.08%
  • Sean Maguire (Good Will Hunting)

    21 21.88%
  • Patch Adams

    2 2.08%
  • Other (list in post)

    7 7.29%
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Results 41 to 60 of 91
  1. #41
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    I wasn't tempted to post on this thread until the poll was added. Let's just say that there was something about Robin Williams that made me prepare to grieve for him a long time ago.

    Can't say that there's one major performance he gave that transcended all others, so I'll give some love to his perfect cameo as Dr. Cozy Carlisle in Dead Again. He plays a disgraced therapist who no longer practices, but still helps the protagonist with an unusual case. I'd argue those two or three scenes seem to capture the essence of his public persona: sharp, funny, and surprising, but a little sad and uncomfortable. It was like he was always trying to adjust to life's second act.

  2. #42
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Halifax, Nova Scotia
    How many times did I listen to my Good Morning Vietnam cassette tape? More than any other movie soundtrack I have ever had (though Pulp Fiction might not be that far behind.)

  3. #43
    I picked Mrs. Doubtfire but only because Alladin was only his voice. It was really hard to choose between his roles in Alladin, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Birdcage. I loved many of his other roles, but those are my three favorites.

    "I'm in hell, and look! There's a crucifix in it!" Classic.

  4. #44
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Durham, within a couple of miles of Cameron
    Quote Originally Posted by brevity View Post
    I wasn't tempted to post on this thread until the poll was added. Let's just say that there was something about Robin Williams that made me prepare to grieve for him a long time ago.

    Can't say that there's one major performance he gave that transcended all others, so I'll give some love to his perfect cameo as Dr. Cozy Carlisle in Dead Again. He plays a disgraced therapist who no longer practices, but still helps the protagonist with an unusual case. I'd argue those two or three scenes seem to capture the essence of his public persona: sharp, funny, and surprising, but a little sad and uncomfortable. It was like he was always trying to adjust to life's second act.
    I agree fully; wondered if anyone would remember this terrific role, in a very underappreciated film. Good call, Brevity.

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    New York, NY
    I particularly loved his fragile search. His riffs didn't always work (IMHO), but he was always searching for the edge, always looking to extend the joke, and to be that naked is brave and transparent.

  6. #46
    As someone who was a kid during the 90s, to me, Robin Williams will always be synonymous with Genie from Aladdin and Batty from Fern Gully. I would have to say that Good Morning Vietnam is his best dramatic role and overall movie.

    That said, my favorite film of his is the much maligned, much hated "Death to Smoochy." I thought it was a great work of surrealist comedy, and it's loaded with dark humor. I'm sure not many will agree with me.

  7. #47
    Quote Originally Posted by brevity View Post
    I wasn't tempted to post on this thread until the poll was added. Let's just say that there was something about Robin Williams that made me prepare to grieve for him a long time ago.
    His humor often had that edge hidden in it that makes a comedian truly great.

  8. #48
    We've got a couple of golf-related threads going lately, so this seemed appropriate. One of my favorite Robin Williams standup routines:

    Robin Williams explains the origins of golf.

    WARNING: NSFW.

  9. #49
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    West of CIS

    He will be missed..

    Funny clip in total but around the 8:00 min mark some funny comments on the monetary system.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF7TX...e_gdata_player
    Let's go DUKE !!!

  10. #50
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    New York, NY
    It seems that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, a progressive neurological disease often associated win depression.

    This adds a twist, for me, since the diagnosis may have been a last straw when it could have been an opportunity to do something special for a lot of people. No one is obliged to be a hero, of course, and he was clearly suffering, but this coulda shoulda woulda been a chance for an even greater chapter in his life.

  11. #51
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    brevity, Clay Feet POF, Edouble, JStuart, and theAlaskanBear all listed "other" in their poll votges but, unless I missed it, they have lot told us which "other" they picked. Good god, please tell me none of you are voting for Bicentennial Man or What Dreams May Come!!! Ha!

    --Jason "the poll is amazingly varied, a sign of how many wonderful roles Williams played in his career" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  12. #52
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    NC
    I'm honestly a bit surprised to see so many people voted for Williams' role in Good Will Hunting. I certainly loved that movie (perhaps my favorite on the list), but I didn't feel like Williams' role was that huge in the movie. Williams did fine, and won an Academy award (though I feel that was more of a lifetime achievement award; a practice that the Academy is known to do), but I felt like Damon and Affleck carried the movie. And the script was the real work of art.

    I feel the same is true for John Keating. Great movie for sure, but Williams' role was nothing special. Again, I feel the story was the work of art there. Williams filled the role just fine, but I don't think he brought anything extra to the performance to make it worthy of his best/most interesting/favorite role.

    But regardless of varying opinion, what the list does show is that Williams had an incredibly long, diverse, and successful career. I personally voted for Mork, because I felt that was far and away the most interesting, creative, different role he ever played. I could also certainly understand arguments for Patch Adams (a mix between his comic brilliance and his more tender side) or Armand Goldman (I think his role in the Birdcage was brilliant - playing a gay man who is the "straight" man to Nathan Lane's more flamboyant character) or Mrs. Doubtfire (no explanation needed), or Popeye (to so solidly portray an iconic cartoon character is very impressive), or Peter Pan (again mixing the carefree with the reserved) or Adrian Cronauer (not sure anybody else could have delivered that role the way he did). Just a wealth of great work.

    It's very sad to see him lose his battle with depression. As someone who also suffers from depression (and who learned that depression doesn't necessarily go away once symptoms subside), it's personally sad to hear that he was well aware of his condition and knew the importance of treatment, but still could not overcome it. It's a sobering reminder that treating the disease (just like cancer or diabetes or heart disease) can be a lifelong commitment, and that letting yourself think it's completely behind you can result in tragedy.

    Hopefully Williams' death can result in some good in making people more cognizant of depression and other diseases affecting one's brain. The sooner folks understand that it can affect ANYONE, the sooner it will be treated with the same respect that diseases like heart disease or diabetes or cancer are treated. It's very sad to lose such an icon, but maybe something good can come from this loss.

  13. #53
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    brevity, Clay Feet POF, Edouble, JStuart, and theAlaskanBear all listed "other" in their poll votges but, unless I missed it, they have lot told us which "other" they picked. Good god, please tell me none of you are voting for Bicentennial Man or What Dreams May Come!!! Ha!

    --Jason "the poll is amazingly varied, a sign of how many wonderful roles Williams played in his career" Evans
    Oh Shazbot! You missed it!

  14. #54
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    brevity, Clay Feet POF, Edouble, JStuart, and theAlaskanBear all listed "other" in their poll votges but, unless I missed it, they have lot told us which "other" they picked. Good god, please tell me none of you are voting for Bicentennial Man or What Dreams May Come!!! Ha!

    --Jason "the poll is amazingly varied, a sign of how many wonderful roles Williams played in his career" Evans
    Clay Feet POF has not posted in this thread. The rest of us have:

    Quote Originally Posted by Edouble View Post
    ...One Hour Photo is indeed my favorite Robin Williams movie. Uncle Sy is a dark and complex character, and the best work of Mr. Williams's that I am aware of.
    Quote Originally Posted by brevity View Post
    ...Can't say that there's one major performance he gave that transcended all others, so I'll give some love to his perfect cameo as Dr. Cozy Carlisle in Dead Again. He plays a disgraced therapist who no longer practices, but still helps the protagonist with an unusual case. I'd argue those two or three scenes seem to capture the essence of his public persona: sharp, funny, and surprising, but a little sad and uncomfortable. It was like he was always trying to adjust to life's second act.
    Quote Originally Posted by JStuart View Post
    I agree fully; wondered if anyone would remember this terrific role, in a very underappreciated film. Good call, Brevity.
    Quote Originally Posted by theAlaskanBear View Post
    ...That said, my favorite film of his is the much maligned, much hated "Death to Smoochy." I thought it was a great work of surrealist comedy, and it's loaded with dark humor. I'm sure not many will agree with me.

  15. #55
    Quote Originally Posted by CDu View Post

    I'm honestly a bit surprised to see so many people voted for Williams' role in Good Will Hunting. I certainly loved that movie (perhaps my favorite on the list), but I didn't feel like Williams' role was that huge in the movie. Williams did fine, and won an Academy award (though I feel that was more of a lifetime achievement award; a practice that the Academy is known to do), but I felt like Damon and Affleck carried the movie. And the script was the real work of art.

    I feel the same is true for John Keating. Great movie for sure, but Williams' role was nothing special. Again, I feel the story was the work of art there. Williams filled the role just fine, but I don't think he brought anything extra to the performance to make it worthy of his best/most interesting/favorite role.

    But regardless of varying opinion, what the list does show is that Williams had an incredibly long, diverse, and successful career. I personally voted for Mork, because I felt that was far and away the most interesting, creative, different role he ever played. I could also certainly understand arguments for Patch Adams (a mix between his comic brilliance and his more tender side) or Armand Goldman (I think his role in the Birdcage was brilliant - playing a gay man who is the "straight" man to Nathan Lane's more flamboyant character) or Mrs. Doubtfire (no explanation needed), or Popeye (to so solidly portray an iconic cartoon character is very impressive), or Peter Pan (again mixing the carefree with the reserved) or Adrian Cronauer (not sure anybody else could have delivered that role the way he did). Just a wealth of great work.

    I think you're on to something. I was tempted to go with Sean Maguire from Good Will Hunting -- that was, after all, his Oscar-winning role, and it showcased his dramatic chops. He was an integral -- even indispensable -- part of the film, but you're right. He wasn't the axis around which it revolved. Ditto for John Keating in Dead Poets Society.

    His role of Armand Goldman in The Birdcage is interesting, but that may be the only film I can recall in which Robin Williams had a major role, but was actually upstaged by a co-star.

    He was great as the genie in Aladdin, but as others have said, it was a voice role, and it was basically Williams doing his improv/ad lib shtick. He did it very impressively, no doubt, but the role didn't require the same range as others he's played.

    For me it comes down to two finalists -- Mrs. Doubtfire and Adrian Cronauer. Those are the two films that I feel are most unquestionably his. His character was the centerpiece and the role that drove the story, and they both required the full range of his comic, dramatic, and improvisational talent. He delivered in both cases, and of the two, I think Cronauer probably asked a bit more of him -- so that's what I'm going with.

  16. #56
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Skinker-DeBaliviere, Saint Louis
    There needs to be another option in the poll.

    "Absolutely anything but Dead Poets' Society, up to and including the one line he had in the fourth grade Christmas play."

    A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
    ---Roger Ebert


    Some questions cannot be answered
    Who’s gonna bury who
    We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
    ---Over the Rhine

  17. #57
    Quote Originally Posted by throatybeard View Post
    There needs to be another option in the poll.

    "Absolutely anything but Dead Poets' Society, up to and including the one line he had in the fourth grade Christmas play."
    I think that's tacitly implied; you can just add up the votes for roles other than DPS.

    To me, it's all good. I even liked him in RV. One silver lining in all of this is that it has me interested in several movies of his that I just never saw over the years, like One Hour Photo, Death to Smoochy, Toys, The Birdcage, etc. Of the specific ones listed in the poll I think I've only seen 9 of 14.

  18. #58
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Quote Originally Posted by throatybeard View Post
    There needs to be another option in the poll.

    "Absolutely anything but Dead Poets' Society, up to and including the one line he had in the fourth grade Christmas play."
    Am I correct to assume that o, captain my captain is not one of your all time favorite lines?

  19. #59
    Dev11's Avatar
    Dev11 is offline Commissioner of Statistics, DBR Podcast
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Boston
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    brevity, Clay Feet POF, Edouble, JStuart, and theAlaskanBear all listed "other" in their poll votges but, unless I missed it, they have lot told us which "other" they picked. Good god, please tell me none of you are voting for Bicentennial Man or What Dreams May Come!!! Ha!

    --Jason "the poll is amazingly varied, a sign of how many wonderful roles Williams played in his career" Evans
    Probably Flubber

  20. #60
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Skinker-DeBaliviere, Saint Louis
    Quote Originally Posted by NSDukeFan View Post
    Am I correct to assume that o, captain my captain is not one of your all time favorite lines?
    It's mildly lame, but here are two much more smarterer people than I on the issue:

    Kevin Dettmar:
    http://www.theatlantic.com/education...nities/283853/

    Roger Ebert:
    http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/de...s-society-1989

    I've seen a lot of Facebook "tributes" to Robin Williams quoting DPS. This is akin to posting a YouTube of the 18th-best roadrunner cartoon to "honor" Chuck Jones instead of, say, Rabbit of Seville or Bully for Bugs.

    A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
    ---Roger Ebert


    Some questions cannot be answered
    Who’s gonna bury who
    We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
    ---Over the Rhine

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