Robin Williams's speed and abundance of voices can obscure how well he listens. We rate him most highly when a director gives that quieter skill room, as Mike Nichols does in The Birdcage.
Fi1m perspective
In The Birdcage (1996), Robin Williams listens while Nathan Lane makes a fuss, and the listening is often the funnier part. As Armand Goldman, he leaves room for Lane's Albert without disappearing himself. We laughed at Williams's reactions more than at some of Lane's complaints, which Nichols occasionally allows to run on too long. Williams gives the scene enough time for both actors to be funny.
His breakthrough leading role in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) made far more use of his improvisational speed. The inspirational mentor in Dead Poets Society (1989) established him as a dramatic lead, and Good Will Hunting (1997) drew on the warmth of his supporting work. He kept returning to comedy in between: the Genie in Aladdin (1992) gave his changes of voice and comic timing another use. The quieter acting was already there while the comic parts kept coming.
Nichols understands the value of letting Williams respond rather than requiring him to produce another joke. Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography leaves room to watch the performers react to each other, and Arthur Schmidt's editing holds on Williams listening. Even Bo Welch's excessive production design seldom distracts from the actors. The film's cautious script wants approval too much, and its satire suffers for it. Williams and Lane make the characters' discomfort matter even when the next complication is easy to predict.
In Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996), that familiar face is less helpful. His Osric makes us think about the guest list when we ought to be attending to the speech. It is a distraction in a film whose supporting performances generally keep complicated language clear. We recommend the film, but his presence is not the reason.
In Patch Adams (1998), the warmth grows maudlin. The broad comedy could be overdone too, with gurning where a smaller response would have served. Choose The Birdcage for Williams without the excess, and allow for a script more eager to please than it should be.
Biography
Robin Williams (21 July 1951 – 11 August 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he began performing stand-up comedy in the mid-1970s and rose to prominence playing the alien Mork in the sitcom Mork & Mindy (1978–1982).
His film work included the voice of the Genie in Aladdin (1992), Daniel Hillard / Mrs. Doubtfire in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Parry in The Fisher King (1991), Peter Banning in Hook (1991), Malcolm Sayer in Awakenings (1990), Cozy Carlisle in Dead Again (1991) and Osric in Hamlet (1996). He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting (1997) and received further Oscar nominations for Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989) and The Fisher King (1991).
