This is not a review, this is simply a short essay, if you will, in tribute to Robin Williams, one of my favorites.
Do you
remember the first time Robin Williams made you laugh? How about the first time
he made you cry? Unfortunately, many of us have felt more of the latter over
the last few hours as the news of Robin Williams’ death has hit many fans hard,
as well it should. I personally was left in disbelief, Robin Williams was a
comedic hero to me since my early childhood, and never failed to make me (and
countless others) laugh, and now he’s gone. How do we deal with that?
Now, I’m not
going to talk about the fact that it looks like his death was most likely a
suicide, and I’m not going talk about his addiction to alcohol or the obvious
depression that may or may not have driven him to take his own life. These
issues are very important, but I don’t believe I have the right or the
knowledge to take on these issues and supply satisfying answers. However, I
would like to take a moment to reflect on the life that was and how it affected
all of us in different ways.
What was the
first Robin Williams role that really influenced you? If I remember correctly,
for me it was Mrs. Doubtfire, although Aladdin is probably a close second. Say
what you will about Mrs. Doubtfire as a film, but this was one of my favorites
as a kid; I thought Robin absolutely killed it, I mean do you know any other
actor that can pull that role off? I started trying to do “voices” just like
him because of that movie and many others like Flubber, or Robots; they were
silly movies, but movies that made me laugh as a kid and still do today, and
make no mistake laughter is important. I think we all have different Robin
Williams’ roles that we remember and cherish, and that’s because he was the
kind of actor that could take on almost any role, whether silly or serious.
Steven Spielberg once called him “one of the greatest actors of our generation”
praise that I’m sure does not come lightly, and you can see why; only a great
actor can go from hamming it up in a crazy adventure movie like Jumanji, and
then make us all feel the tragic death of his wife in Good Will Hunting.
Of course,
this doesn’t even cover his standup, he was crazy, loud, politically incorrect,
firing a joke a second and I can’t deny I loved it, as a kid I was fascinated
by his vulgarity as it was something new to me and I spent many an hour on my
laptop howling with laughter. I also have to give a shout out to his hilarious musical
Blame Canada, something I was definitely obsessed with for a bit in high
school.
Another
great thing about Robin Williams, he would guest star in anything, play any
role no matter how small or seemingly insignificant and he could make that role
his own. Whether it was a random guest star role in Law and Order: SVU, or his
small but brilliantly creepy part in Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia, or playing a
bit role in Louie, or how about his performance as Teddy Roosevelt in Night at
the Museum (arguably the best part of the movie)? These roles are all just more
proof of his brilliance as an actor and a performer.
Now the
question is how do we watch Robin Williams’ films after this tragedy? Will we
still be able to laugh along, or is his death too sad and too terrible? Perhaps
we will do a bit of both from now on, a bit of laughter and a bit of sadness. I
think it would be an insult to his memory not to laugh at his jokes anymore, I believe
that was one of his real passions, trying to make people laugh, and if we
really wish to honor him we can all do that by remembering how hilarious he
could be. Of course, there will always be that tinge of sadness, at least for
me. The same sadness I feel when I watch a Paul Walker role or listen to a
Michael Jackson track. He was taken from us too early, and it doesn’t seem
fair, but now all we can do is remember him, and if that means I’ll finally
have to force myself to actually watch What Dreams May Come, then damn it I
guess I’ll have to do it then. RIP Robin Williams, you were an inspiration to
many, not just comedians, and as the world has already proven, you will be
sorely missed.
-Ryan Maples
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