Robin Williams, American Master: The Movies and Art of a Lost Genius

by Stephen Spignesi

Overview

A comprehensive guide to all of Robin Williams’s movies, with facts about plots, performances, and cast, as well as notable trivia and behind-the-scenes details about each film.

Did you know that, according to director Chris Columbus, Robin Williams improvised so much during the filming of Mrs. Doubtfire that the studio had enough footage to release PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 versions of the movie? Or that Robin ad-libbed all his lines in Good Morning, Vietnam because the DJ the movie was based on didn’t really do comedy during his shows?

Robin Williams, American Master looks at Robin’s seventy movies, from his earliest appearance in Can I Do It...’Til I Need Glasses? to his final posthumous voice-only appearance in Absolutely Anything.

Each film is discussed in detail, with special emphasis on Robin’s performances and how they exist in the context of his entire body of work.

Robin Williams, American Master is the perfect tour guide through Robin’s epic collection of cinematic genius.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781642935295
Publisher:	Post Hill Press
Publication date:	12/08/2020
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	534,658
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Author and University of New Haven Practitioner in Residence (ret.) Stephen Spignesi writes extensively about popular culture and is considered a world authority on Stephen King, The Beatles, Robin Williams, Woody Allen, The Andy Griffith Show, ER, and other pop culture subjects and TV shows. His other areas of interest include American history, the US presidents and founders, the Titanic, true crime, and the paranormal. He appears in the 2015 ITV documentary Autopsy: The Last Hours of Robin Williams. His first novel Dialogues was hailed as a “reinvention of the psychological thriller.”

Table of Contents

Introduction: Legalized Insanity xiii

Foreword: Boss: A TV Series starring Kelsey Grammer and Why It's Relevant to Robin Williams's Story xvii

Can I Do It 'Til I Need Glasses? (1977) 1

Popeye (1980) 5

The World According to Garp (1982) 10

The Survivors (1983) 16

Moscow on the Hudson (1984) 22

The Best of Times (1986) 27

Seize the Day (1986) 31

Club Paradise (1986) 36

Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) 40

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) 45

Portrait of a White Marriage (1988) 50

Dead Poets Society (1989) 52

Cadillac Man (1990) 57

Awakenings (1990) 60

Dead Again (1991) 65

The Fisher King (1991) 69

Hook (1991) 74

Shakes the Clown (1991) 79

FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) 82

Aladdin (1992) 85

Toys (1992) 91

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) 94

Being Human (1994) 99

Nine Months (1995) 104

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) 109

Jumanji (1995) 112

The Birdcage (1996) 117

Jack (1996) 122

Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996) 127

The Aladdin and the King of Thieves Interview on The Today Show 132

The Secret Agent (1996) 135

Hamlet (1996) 138

Deconstructing Harry (1997) 144

Fathers' Day (1997) 146

Flubber (1997) 151

Good Will Hunting (1997) 155

What Dreams May Come (1998) 158

Patch Adams (1998) 163

Jakob the Liar (1999) 168

Bicentennial Man (1999) 172

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) 177

Death to Smoochy (2002) 181

Insomnia (2002) 184

One Hour Photo (2002) 187

The Rutles 2: Cant Buy Me Lunch (2002) 192

House of D (2004) 195

The Final Cut (2004) 199

Noel (2004) 204

Robots (2005) 207

The Big White (2005) 210

RV (2006) 214

The Night Listener (2006) 217

Everyone's Hero (2006) 220

Man of the Year (2006) 223

Happy Feet (2006) 226

Happy Feet Two (2011) 229

Night at the Museum (2006) 232

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) 235

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) 239

License to Wed (2007) 242

August Rush (2007) 245

Shrink (2009) 248

World's Greatest Dad (2009) 251

Old Dogs (2009) 255

The Big Wedding (2013) 258

Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) 261

The Face of Love (2013) 264

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014) 268

Boulevard (2014) 272

A Merry Friggin' Christmas (2014) 275

Absolutely Anything (2015) 279

Credits 282

Acknowledgments 329

Stephen Spignesi Bibliography 331