Image from Rhymes With Geek: Top 5 Underrated
Robin Williams Movies
Before
I get into my usual style of summary and criticism, I’d like to take a moment
to talk about the recent loss of the amazing actor, Robin Williams. I had no
idea he was in this movie when I picked it, and it hit me like a truck when I
saw he had passed away. He was an actor
and comedian of amazing talents, one that played a huge role in my childhood,
and I’ll always remember him as one of the funniest men alive. It was such a
horrible tragedy to see his life come to this, but I think it best we remember
him not for what happened but for what he was: hilarious, talented, friendly
and a true force of nature. Oh captain, my captain, we will miss you.
This
was one of his funnier movies, The
Adventures of Baron Munchausen. The movie brings to life the extravagant
and exaggerated war-stories of Hieronymus Carl Friedrich Baron von Münchhausen
(who in addition to having a ridiculously long name was a general in the Russian army against the Ottoman Turks). The story opens in a war-torn, unnamed European city, run by The Right Ordinary Horatio Jackson (He’s as exciting as
he sounds, sadly). Suddenly the Turks break with Jackson’s schedule and attack
the town, and it’s up to the newly arrived Baron to save them. He travels from one fantastical place to
another to collect his gang of misfits, each equipped with their own
fantastical powers, and come back in time to save the city. It is, in one short
sentence, Adult-Adventure-Nostalgia on steroids.
This
is High Adventure at the purest level. Sultans, gods, giants and all kinds of
other elements all collide together in this fun little mesh-mash. Director
Terry Gilliam presents us two separate worlds. One is drab and ‘Right
Ordinary’, where wars are run on a schedule and soldiers are executed for being heroes. The other world is colorful and runs on the logic of a child, with
long-haired goddesses (Uma Thurman), hilarious Italian moon people (Robin
Williams & Valentina Cortese) and so much more. Even more curious, there’s
this sad undertone to all this whimsy. The baron himself and his servants are
all dying in this world of the logical and science. There isn’t any room to
dream, thus, no room for them.
A
big point in this film’s favor is the humor. It’s gets downright raunchy at
moments but comes at an angle of infantile cluelessness. It stems from our
wonderful cast, who I am sure took some pointers from Monty Python (kinda have
to since Eric Idle’s in the mix.) John Neville’s Baron Munchausen has a great
way of portraying a hero of the older days: comically exuberant, always ready
with a rose for fair-maiden, and sad to see the world leave him in the dust.
Our supporting character, Sally Salt (Sarah Polley) is by far the best straight
man I’ve seen in awhile. It’s her desire
to see the end of the story that proves that the world still cares for the
baron’s kind of story, no matter how drenched in realism we found ourselves.
Altogether,
the skillful acting, amazing scenery, and nonsensical situations create a very
wild ride that is worth a watch. Get your friend and grab some popcorn for what
will be one of the more fantastical things you’ve seen, but be prepared to sit
for awhile. This was along film, as it had several different situations to get
through (but it flushed everything out, fancy that.) It was extremely funny,
eye-popping, and great for someone looking for a casual watch.
So,
where to now? We covered slightly obscure, massive favorites and even something
for the good ole’ UK. But I notice most of my picks have been stuck between the
80s and 90s. We’re going to try
something much more modern this time...and a helluva lot more confusing.
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