It's not cool to like Robin Williams. It's fine, expected even, to make fun of him, comment on his hairy physique or accuse of him being a drug-snorting joke stealer, but to admit that you think he's a good actor, let alone a funny comedian? NOPE. At least that's the way it seems based on Twitter reactions to the news that Williams will star in a CBS comedy, Crazy Ones, written by David E. Kelley. Well, I'm here to say: I like Robin Williams.
That's not to say he's perfect. Some of his standup is cocaine-aided crazy talk that's impossible to follow, and for about a five-year period in the mid-2000s, he starred in crappy movie after crappy movie after RV. BUT that doesn't mean we should count out his fantastic dramatic roles, where he suppresses his manic persona below the surface, or his impossibly funny An Evening With Robin Williams special. Plus, the beard.
Here are 15 reasons why Robin Williams not be the greatest comedian of all-time, but he's still pretty damn funny.
#1. Because his To Kill a Mockingbird-spoofing appearance on The Richard Pryor Show from 1977 as a lawyer defending a black male accused of raping a white female is still ahead of its time.
#3. Because he'll star in paycheck-earning crap like Happy Feet so he can afford roles like the titular father in the great World's Greatest Dad.
#4. Because although Dead Poets Society isn't as revelatory as your 13-year-old self believed it was, this line tells the stone cold truth (and Williams is very good in it).
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#5. Because when he's playing an understated character, like he did on Louie, he's one of the finest actors around.
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#6. Because as superb as Dan Castellaneta is as a voice actor on The Simpsons, his Genie was a weak imitation of Robin Williams'. He takes voice acting and kids movies roles just as seriously as he does in Oscar-bait films.
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#8. Because despite his manic presence when he's performing solo, he doesn't try to one-up performers in sketches. He works with them, and sets up jokes, rather than stealing all the good ones for himself.
#9. Because in his 1986 wildly scattered standup special A Night at The Met, he crafted a bit around and acknowledged his dependence on a certain drug. Speaking of...
#10. Because it's amusing to imagine Robin Williams taking on Rip Torn in a cocaine-off backstage at The Larry Sanders Show.
#11. Because he's just a decent human being.
Williams' most valuable contributions, [Christopher] Reeve attested again and again, were the simple gifts of friendship and laughter. At a tribute dinner in 1995, he described his first reunion with the comic in a hospital room five days after the accident that left him paralyzed:
"I was hanging upside down, and I looked and saw a blue scrub hat and yellow gown and heard this Russian accent. There was Robin Williams being some insane Russian doctor. I laughed, and I knew I was going to be all right."
#12. Because he starred in the commercial for Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a wonderful video game, and named his daughter after a character from the series.
#13. Because creepy Robin Williams is the best, vol. 3
#14. Because he's a pro at interacting with audiences.
#15. Because, obviously.
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His guest appearance on ‘Homicide: Life in the Streets’ was also a great example of his dramatic chops.
Hell yeah. His monologue at the end was fantastic.
That was the pilot episode. I’m pretty sure without his star power getting people watching and the way they all delivered in his episode, the whole show would never have made it.
And then without “Homicide” becoming a critical fave, David Simon never would’ve made “The Corner,” and then never made “The Wire” either.
Basically, I’m saying Robin Williams gave us Omar.
Actually, “Bop Gun” was the Season 2 premiere episode, but I think it helped keep the show on the air. It was one of the best episodes of the show.
Huh, you’re right. Thanks for the correction.
“I was in Good Will Hunting, what did you ever do?”
Cool points for the beard alone. That shit is fuckin metal. And yeah, his dramatic acting is off the map.
Yes I only wish I could grow one that bad ass
Yeah I don’t know if it’s his being typecast or his own decisions. Probably the latter, but he is a top-level dramatic actor.
i can’t play videos right now on my computer so i’m not sure if you have the Puddin’ videos on here or not but robin is a guest in it along with eddie pepitone, patton oswalt, and others.
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Don’t forget his guest spot as himself (kinda) on Wilfred this past season
Yeah, I was shocked HOMICIDE didn’t make the list. Shit was epic.
I wish Robin Williams would accept he’s not a comedian.
He is actually a terrific dramatic actor. Not only that, he’s an even more terrific dramatic actor when subtle comedy is involved. This was first apparent in The World According to Garp.
But when he does what HE thinks is funny….it’s like being raped by a bull who thinks what he is doing is “romantic”.
Agreed. I can’t stand his manic comedian persona. Loved him in “What Dreams May Come.”
Funny, that is one of my wife’s favorite movies.
So I naturally hate it.
But even if a movie is terrible I have enjoyed his performance as long as he is being earnest. In varying degrees I have enjoyed The Night Listener, Death to Smoochie, The Big White, Insomnia and One Hour Photo.
Conversely, watching about 18 minutes of License to Wed made me hate all of the aforementioned movies, plus The Office, Saved! and Scrubs.
It’s weird because his Dramedy can be soooo good….but then his comedy not only ruins the comedic movies, it also shits all over the good things he does.
3 more old dogs and I will want to stab Pam Dawber.
Robin Williams is a fantastic actor, but What Dreams May Come is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.
What Dreams May Come is up there with Grave of the Fireflies and Pan’s Labyrinth. Excellent artistic movies and great things to bring up to chicks at parties to make you sound deep and sensitive, but it isn’t going to prepare me for that feeling when I lose someone I can’t do without. So no, once was enough.
The problem is that his show is going to be on CBS playing to middle American idiots with no taste who only want to see crazy Robin Williams. Too bad he didn’t take a dramatic role on cable.
I had a friend who used to work at a sub shop Williams frequented. Said he never acted like he was anyone special, but always tipped insanely well. So…based on that alone, I’ve always assumed he’s a great guy.
I’ve always liked Robin Williams and all of my friends do too. I think the people who don’t are the exceptions.
I’ll go with that. He terrified me as a kid. I’d inexplicably scream and run away any time I heard ‘nanoo nanoo’ but I was still obsessed with Mork and Mindy. It was as if Daleks were funny. Okay, intentionally funny.
I don’t care what anyone says. His stand up show on broadyway from 2002 is one of the funniest stand up shows EVER.
My wife’s cousin was espousing that theory. He was all “I’ll lend you the CD” and I was like “That sounds good but it’s also cool if we forget this conversation happened.”
So I accept your position that it is hilarious, and I take that opinion into account when considering his similar opinion….and then I also factor in that he once got into a bad motorcycle crash and landed on his head without wearing a helmet…..
And when all the data is in, I accept that it MAY be a great performance. But I’m never going to listen to it.
The HBO special? I have that on DVD and we almost got in trouble for laughing too loud while watching it at 2 in the morning in the dorms freshman year of college.
Scotsmen and Golf will never get old.
If you don’t think his stand-up at the Met, especially golfers on cocaine and his spiel on alcoholism, isn’t funny, there’s something wrong with you
I wonder if someone will write a similar article about Dane Cook in twenty years…
Please catch the nearest flight to Los Angeles and fall out of it.
How could you forget Popeye???
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I wish SNL would watch that To Kill a Mockingbird parody and just rip it off completely. That was fantastic.
I don’t mind Robin Williams. He, like many comedians have a certain period of time where they’re funny and then they stop being funny. He had fantastic material, but, it’s just out-dated and at this point sad when he tries to break into a Mikhail Gorobchev impersonation.
Dude does some fantastic dramatic acting chops, though.
I had no idea about Zelda …
Yep. And she’s acting as well. If you can sit through Anton Yelchin, House of D is not a bad movie.
Anton Yelchin’ was excellent in House of D, and he and Erykah Badu were the only good thing in the film, her daughter’s performance was just passable and forgettable.
Robin Williams can be a little hacky with his “mile-a-minute” comedy routine, but he starred in two of the seminal movies of my childhood, Mrs. Doubtfire and Hook, and he is capable of being really funny at times. I like Robin Williams, and I don’t care if that gets me kicked out of the cool kids club.
If liking Hook means you’re not cool, then you better sic Ogre on me, cause I’m the least cool person ever.
I liked Hook. It’s supposed to be berserk. No one I’ve met over my age range likes Williams more than me and they all hate Hook. They’re also all horribly boring and think they get to make the rules because they’re older. I have never ever gotten anything that says that just because you’re older you can make the rules.
This will never not make me laugh.
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Yup.
I’ve always loved Robin while my friends hate him. Oh well, they like Matrix 2 and 3 so fuck’em.
“Okay. I’ll call you back.” said in character as a Mexican drug dealer, was a punchline to a genius bit of improvisation he did whilst being interviewed on a BBC Radio 1 show once upon a time. Only two of us in the office heard it and it fucking killed us. It has been used/paid homage to by both of us on many occasions since; a perfect in-joke that always makes the other laugh.
I must have really missed something, because I have always been a Robin Williams fan.
My 13 yr old self? I was working in a movie theater as a projectionist when ‘Dead Poets Society” came out and my 20 yr old self climbed up on his desk and cried along with the rest of the student.
I always thought that his appearance on Inside the Actor’s studio was brilliant:
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I think much fewer people would hate Robin Williams if he had never used his awful, awful “black guy” voice which unfortunately became a go-to joke.
I can’t believe it. I’m losing to a rug.
HAHAHAHA
I never which celebrities people hate until I see a list of reasons why I shouldn’t hate them on Uproxx.