---
title: "Good Morning, Vietnam: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/good-morning-vietnam/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/good-morning-vietnam"
critics_score: 59
critics_reviews: 8
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Good Morning, Vietnam (1987): what the critics said

Critics' score 59 from 8 reviews: 3 positive, 3 mixed, 2 negative.

The reviews are split, and almost all of them agree on one thing: Robin Williams. The praise clusters on his improvised radio broadcasts, the rapid-fire impressions and the energy they lend a comedy most critics find funny in bursts. Even the harsher notices call the performance a virtuoso one. Variety also finds room for Bruno Kirby’s comic moments among the supporting cast.

They part on everything around him. The most common reservation is that the film falters when it turns serious: several critics find the later stretches clumsy, the script thin and the characters flat. The spread is wide, from warm approval at The Hollywood Reporter to outright dismissal. The AV Club goes furthest, finding the manic radio routines themselves the problem and preferring the supporting cast’s quieter exchanges with their officers, while Time Out judges the whole idea thin and bathetic despite the performance.

## The Hollywood Reporter — Duane Byrge

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 21 December 1987. 

Byrge finds the film a funny, sharply aimed comedy that develops a dark personal undercurrent. He especially praises Robin Williams’s brilliant comic performance and the pain behind it.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/good-morning-vietnam-review-movie-1987-1235284710/)

## Empire — Barry McIlheney

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2005. 

The review finds the film a triumph overall, despite a clumsy final half-hour. It praises Robin Williams’s improvised radio performances and the energy they bring to the comedy.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/good-morning-vietnam-review/)

## The New York Times — Janet Maslin

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 1987. 

The review presents the film as an energetic showcase for Robin Williams. It singles out his comic performance as the film’s chief strength.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/23/movies/film-good-morning-vietnam.html)

## Radio Times — Peter Freedman

Rating 3/5. 

Freedman finds the film entertaining when Robin Williams is performing but less successful when it turns serious. He praises Williams’s comic performance and the film’s portrayal of Vietnamese people as real individuals.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-3nzy6n/good-morning-vietnam/)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1986. 

The review finds the film an exciting, energetic ride, but says its comedy turns inward instead of engaging with the surrounding war. It praises Robin Williams’s rapid-fire impressions and Bruno Kirby’s comic moments.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1986/film/reviews/good-morning-vietnam-1200427258/)

## Los Angeles Times — MICHAEL WILMINGTON

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 25 December 1987. 

Wilmington finds the film shallow and uneven, but says Robin Williams’ performance largely makes it special. He praises Williams’ anarchic, improvised broadcasts while faulting the script for flat characters and obvious humor.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-25-ca-21061-story.html)

## The AV Club — Noel Murray

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 8 February 2012. 

Murray finds the film uneven and overly self-congratulatory, especially when its comedy depends on Williams’s manic radio routines. He praises the subtler humor of the supporting cast’s exchanges with their superior officers.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/good-morning-vietnam-dead-poets-society-1798171449)

## Time Out — GA

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 

The review suggests the film’s idea is thin and bathetic despite a virtuoso performance. It singles out Robin Williams’s performance as the film’s strength.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/good-morning-vietnam-2)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/good-morning-vietnam.md