Robin Williams not just a laughing matter to me
- col-dave-mast
- April 4, 2024
- 339
It’s been a decade since the passing of Robin Williams, who for better or worse, depending on your likes and dislikes, electrified both the big and small screens with his off-kilter brand of frenetic humor.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Williams’ onstage comedy bits, which seem so over the top and at times forced that I just couldn’t quite get into them.
However, I’m not here to talk about funny man Robin Williams; I’m here to focus on dramatic man Robin Williams.
For a guy so well known for his comedic chops, it was awe-inspiring to watch him transform into this dramatic actor who could nail any emotion, go to any corner of his mind to draw upon some power to become someone completely different and light up a screen with not his comedy energy, but his intensity in making such powerful, thought-provoking people come to life.
Williams burst into the scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s when his role as alien Mork on “Happy Days” turned into his own TV comedy show “Mork & Mindy.”
Williams began focusing on his comedy movies and hinted at what was to come in flicks like “The Best of Times” and “Seize the Day,” but when he turned in the gem that put him squarely in dramatic producer’s eyes with “Good Morning, Vietnam” in 1987, his world began to turn, all for the better in my eyes.
“Dead Poet’s Society” in 1989 started a career arc that saw him star in some of the Silver Screen’s finest offerings, and they were all leaning hard on the dramatic side.
In 1990 “Awakenings” took him to a whole new level, with Williams and Robert De Niro offering such mesmerizing performances that I defy one to watch that film without crying.
Then came the touching role in “The Fisher King” that saw him absolutely nail the role of a man struggling to come to grips with the passing of his wife in an automobile accident. In that underrated gem, Williams played a man living in the streets, having lost touch with reality.
Even 1993’s comedy “Mrs. Doubtfire,” perhaps one of his finest performances, was seeped in plenty of soul-searching moments that allowed him to showcase this newfound ability to tug at heartstrings and display raw emotional power that made the audience feel great sorrow while we were laughing at him.
In 1997 he delivered what I consider his greatest role as Sean, a professor who reaches out to Matt Damon’s character Will, where Williams delivers a gripping performance drenched in drama, exhibiting both hope and despair at the same time.
By this time Williams was highly recognized as an A-plus drama guy who delivered the goods, and he kept on delivering.
He delved into the maniacal side in “One Hour Photo,” where he showed he could play a disturbed bad guy. He kept up the comedy tour with shining moments like the role as Theodore Roosevelt in “Night at the Museum,” but he kept on giving us memorable moments in drama, even on the small screen where he won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role as Merritt Rook on “Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit,” where he somehow brought viewers to sympathize with a law-breaking man.
While not a fan of Williams’ comedy, I absolutely love his dramatic performances. The only actor I can think of who turned his comedy chops into pure dramatic gold like that was Tom Hanks, who I’m sure many don’t even realize got his start in comedy before rattling off Oscar-worthy dramatic roles galore.
Williams made a believer of me that great actors can bury themselves in whatever the role might require, and in doing so he transformed my opinion of him.
I will admit he was a comedic genius, despite my not enjoying his shtick.
But for me I will always remember Williams for the inspiring, thought-provoking, intense and carefully crafted dramatic roles that saw him capture my heart and mind in ways that transcended his comedic roots.