Good Morning Vietnam – Special Edition

 

Picture: B-     Sound: C+     Extras: C+     Film: C+

 

 

Barry Levinson’s Good Morning Vietnam (1987) reminds us of Hollywood’s disturbing and sometimes-bizarre relationship with the Vietnam conflict, as well as the relationship of that time period with the “happy 1980s” as denial of history.  This is not to say we should get into or allow U.S. bashing blindly because things were a mess from Vietnam involvement, but trying to deny and erase what happened is dangerous revisionism.  This film remains one of the only comedies about the time, with Robert Altman’s 1969 classic feature film version of M*A*S*H still definitive.

 

Unlike Altman’s send-up, which the studio though could be cleverly disguised with a disclaimer about the events being The Korean War when the images scream Vietnam, Levinson’s film makes no secret about where and when, yet does not have the edge of Altman’s film.  Robin Williams plays a manic version of controversial DJ Adrian Cronauer, who wants to supplant boring propaganda and standard military speak with subversive jokes and Rock music on his show.  What seemed benign and just funny back in 1987 now seems a little more remarkable now with all the media censorship (including what web companies are doing for The Internet in countries like China) and the kind of consolidation of the media in general since the film came out in The U.S. overall.

 

In this way, even when the jokes have become played out in repeat viewing (and Robin Williams persona far more common, as well as having a long, successful film career that was not happening at the time) and retellings to others, this aspect of the film has become more pointed in a way that seemed like a joke at the time.  With that said, the marginalizing of The U.S. role in Vietnam as a few throwaway scenes where Williams’ Cronauer looks fleetingly as young Vietnamese teens (one in particular) with sadness knowing something is wrong, then not doing anything about it and in effect walking away is uglier than ever.

 

The film was a hit in its time, but is not remembered well because of scenes like that ticking off The Left and its approach in general ever-upsetting The Right.  Too bad Levinson could not have done more, but by the very fact that this was a film coming out of Disney’s too safe and fledgling-at-the-time Touchstone Pictures, he was at the wrong studio if he wanted to build a film that would last.  Good thing Rain Man was up next for him, while this helped to make Williams career and is one of his better films by default.  As it stands, Good Morning Vietnam is one of the relics of Hollywood’s explicit denial of Vietnam period and when the laughter stops for Williams authentically funny performance, the empty echoes are often chilling in ways few could have imagined at the time.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is not bad, though the film shows a slight agedness not expected.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 remix is a real problem, taking the old Dolby analog A-type theatrical sound and remixing it in a way where the dialogue and other sounds are far too much in the center channel.  This even affects Williams’ rantings to some extent.  Extras include a multi-part production diary, original teaser and final theatrical trailers and extended improv reel with Williams.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo