Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

An unorthodox and irreverent DJ begins to shake up things when he is assigned to the US Armed Services Radio station in Vietnam.

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer:

Mitch Markowitz

Stars:

Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tung Thanh Tran

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Williams	...	Adrian Cronauer
Forest Whitaker	...	Edward Garlick
Tung Thanh Tran	...	Tuan
Chintara Sukapatana	...	Trinh
Bruno Kirby	...	Lt. Steven Hauk
Robert Wuhl	...	Marty Lee Dreiwitz
J.T. Walsh	...	Sgt. Major Dickerson
Noble Willingham	...	Gen. Taylor
Richard Edson	...	Pvt. Abersold
Juney Smith	...	Phil McPherson
Richard Portnow	...	Dan 'The Man' Levitan
Floyd Vivino	...	Eddie Kirk
Cu Ba Nguyen	...	Jimmy Wah
Dan Stanton	...	Censor #1 (as Dan R. Stanton)
Don Stanton	...	Censor #2 (as Don E. Stanton)

Storyline

A new Disc Jockey is shipped from Crete to Vietnam to bring humor to Armed Forces Radio. He turns the studio on its ear and becomes wildly popular with the troops but runs afoul of the middle management who think he isn't G.I. enough. While he is off the air, he tries to meet Vietnamese especially girls, and begins to have brushes with the real war that never appears on the radio.

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Plot Keywords:

radio | vietnam | vietnamese | disc jockey | record player | 

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Taglines:

In 1965, military D.J. Adrian Cronauer was sent to Vietnam to build morale. His strategy: keep 'em laughing. His problem: staying out of trouble.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bonjour Vietnam

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$123,922,370 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners III

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Barry Levinson:  [Ralph Tabakin]  (Chaplain Noel) Ralph has appeared in every Levinson picture from Diner (1982) to Liberty Heights (1999).

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Goofs

After the first meeting with the radio staff, Cronauer and Garlick drive their jeep to Jimmy Wah's. In the traffic, there is a yellow 1966 Dodge Polara following them that would not have been available in 1965 Vietnam. And when they get to Jimmy Wah's, the Dodge is already there parked ahead of them.

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Quotes

Adrian Cronauer: [to the racist sergeant] I got to tell you somethin', you know? I've been all around the world, seen a lot of places and a lot of people. I have never, ever in my travels come across a man as large as you... with as much muscles, who has absolutely no penis.

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Connections

References Goldfinger (1964)

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Soundtracks

Yeah Yeah
Written by Pat Patrick, Rodgers Grant, and Jon Hendricks
Performed by Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames
Courtesy of PolyGram Special Projects
A division of PolyGram Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Robin Williams does his thing well in this comedy that makes us think. ***1/2 (out of four)

GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM / (1987) ***1/2 (out of four)

By Blake French:

Robin Williams is about as good as they come at doing stand up comedy, and in "Good Morning, Vietnam" director Berry Levinson gives him everything he needs to make the film go above and beyond the average satire. From his outgoing sense of humor, to his aggressive personality, and dozens of vocal effects, he portrays his character with interactive zest. Who can resist the awakening voice of Williams on the radio yelling "Good Morning Vietnam." This is a film that conquers the test of time.

"Good Morning, Vietnam" tells the story of a lively disc jockey who gets a job on Armed Forced Radio during the Vietnam War. Robin Williams is the fast-talking Adrian Cronauer, and who better to play the part than he. Although this character is one-dimensional (we are never informed on his background, marital status, where he comes from, what he did before we meet), as the movie continues he gradually begins to change into a deeper, more meaningful person.

The story moves along smoothly; the narrative through-line is consistent as each scene relates to the next. Although little momentum or suspense can be noticed, the film does have several underlining themes, often viewed upon in a Stanley Kubrick style: sarcastic and uncompromising. We see how much a little humor and jazz can greatly enlighten the hard-core atmosphere of the military during Vietnam, and how it can thoroughly confuse the bleeding heart officials.

The film hangs by the skin of its teeth for active conflict tension. Beyond people objecting to the actions of Williams' character, there is just not a lot of tension within the story, and at some points my interest wandered. "Good Morning, Vietnam" is merely a portrait of Robin Williams releasing his perennial comedy, and unfortunately that does happen to get old quite quickly; the majority of an audience can only watch the humor for so long until it becomes old and somewhat stale.

"Good Morning, Vietnam" is definitely not a flawless film, but we do empathize for the main character, the scenes effectively capture the attitude and mood during the war, and the dialogue and writing feel accurate and involving. Barry Levinson has directed a marvelous comedy, one that is not all about making us laugh, but also makes us think.