Rest in Peace Robin Williams (1951-2014)

It is with a very heavy heart that I write this post. On August 11, 2014 after coming home early from work, I got on Facebook and saw the headlines... "Robin Williams dies at 63". I can't begin to tell you the amount of sadness I felt. I even began to cry about the fact that Mr. Williams is no longer with us. The amount of laughter and joy this man brought to me, and countless others, is difficult to put into words. I loved this man and his work. So in this post I will go through the movies and other aspects about Robin that made me love him. I'm sure what I say in this post applies to so many others and I hope they serve him justice. So where do we being? How about the film we've all seen and love: Aladdin

Yes, the film and the role that more than likely got cemented into our heads. "The ever impressive, the long-contained, the often imitated, but never duplicated... duplicated... duplicated... duplicated... Genie of the Lamp!"

Yep, this is not only one of Robin's most memorable characters, it is also one of the most memorable characters in animated film history. Williams made the character his own and it can never be duplicated again. It was so good that the famed film critic Gene Siskel said in his review of the film that Williams should have gotten an Oscar nomination. Yeah, he was that good. I loved watching Robin's performance when I was a kid and I love watching it as an adult. It is obvious that Williams had a massive impact on the character and script, and because of that the character is immortalized. And of course, we can't forget the amazing job he did singing "Friend Like Me"

But now onto two movies that I watched a lot when I was kid, Popeye (1980, Dir. Robert Altman) and Hook (1991, Dir. Steven Spielberg). Now I know what you're thinking, "Popeye? Really?" Yes, really. My family and I every summer would go on family vacations and we had a little TV with a VHS player, we'd have a basket of tapes and one movie we'd watch all the time would be Popeye. Now, I'm willing to admit it isn't that great of a movie. But at the same time... what did you expect from a movie about Popeye the Sailor? This worked in my opinion. But what about Robin's  performance? He was perfect. Nobody else could have played this part. Don't believe me? Then watch this!

As for Hook, as I stated in my tribute post to my local video store, there were two movies I always rented from there and Hook was one of them. Now much like Popeye, I'm willing to admit it isn't Steve Spielberg's strongest film, but it is still a massively charming movie. Who else could you get to play an adult Peter Pan who has to go on a spiritual journey to rediscover who he is? Robin Williams, duh! I mean, just watch him!

Mr. Williams won one Oscar in his lifetime and that was for Best Supporting Actor in the movie Good Will Hunting (1997, Dir. Gus Van Sant). When it comes to performances that get an Oscar, I like to believe that there's one point that sets it in stone that this is a worthy performance. For me that moment was this one. But this is a good runner up. Again, my words can't do it justice. Just watch a behold.

But Robin's best trait was his mastery of improvisation. Watch any interview or comedy special he did and he would just tell twenty jokes a minute. It is extremely impressive. Hell, I bet I could sit a chair and he'd probably come up with five jokes there. Check out this clip from his guest appearance on Inside the Actor's Studio. By the way, this episode is one of the funniest bits of television in existence. 

To conclude, there's a lot to talk about with him. I could probably write a series of books about his work. There's still a lot I need to see. But I'll end with this.

Mr. Williams we will miss you. We will miss your charm, your wit, and your ability to make us laugh. We will make sure that future generations know about your brilliant work. I certainly hope that we meet in another lifetime and that you've found peace.

"No matter what anyone says, you'll always be a prince to me."