Good Morning, Vietnam

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

In 1966, Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams), of the United States Air Force, arrives in Saigon from Crete to work as a DJ for the Armed Forces Radio Service there. Cronauer is greeted, and also befriended, by Private First Class Edward Montesquieu Garlick (Forest Whitaker). Cronauer’s irreverence contrasts sharply with many staff members and soon rouses the ire of two of his superiors, Second Lieutenant Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) and Sergeant Major Dickerson (J. T. Walsh). Hauk adheres to strict Army guidelines in terms of humor and music programming, while Dickerson is annoyed by Cronauer’s behavior in general. However, Brigadier General Taylor (Noble Willingham) and the other DJs quickly grow to like the new man and his brand of comedy. Cronauer’s show consists of unpredictable humor segments mixed with news updates (vetted by the station censors Dan and Don Santon) and rock and roll records that are frowned upon by his superiors. Hauk finds nothing funny about any of it and tries, without success, to get him to change his approach.

Cronauer meets Trinh (Chintara Sukapatana), a Vietnamese girl, and follows her to an English class. Bribing the teacher to let him take over the job, Cronauer starts instructing the students in the use of American slang. Once class is dismissed, he tries to talk to Trinh but is stopped by her brother Tuan, who tells him to leave her alone. Instead, Cronauer befriends Tuan and takes him to Jimmy Wah’s, the local G.I. bar, to have drinks with Garlick and the station staff. Two other soldiers, angered at Tuan’s presence, start a fight with the group that rapidly escalates into a full-scale brawl.

Dickerson reprimands Cronauer for this incident, but the broadcasts and unorthodox English classes go on as usual. Impressed with the DJ’s behavior, Tuan sets him up on a date with Trinh, with the rest of the family chaperoning them. While relaxing in Jimmy Wah’s one afternoon, he is pulled outside by Tuan moments before the building explodes, killing two soldiers and leaving Cronauer badly shaken. The cause of the explosion is determined to be a bomb planted inside; the news is censored, but he locks himself in the studio and reports it anyway. Dickerson cuts off the broadcast signal in mid-report and Cronauer is suspended. Hauk takes over his time slots, but his poor attempts at comedy and insistence on playing polka music, instead of rock and roll, lead to a flood of letters and phone calls from servicemen who demand that Hauk be removed and that Cronauer be put back on the air.

In the meantime, Cronauer spends most of his time drinking and trying to pursue a relationship with Trinh, only to be rebuffed at every attempt. At the radio station Taylor intervenes on his behalf, ordering Hauk to reinstate him, but Cronauer refuses to go back to work when Garlick brings him the news. He now fears that Dickerson will send him to the front lines if he does anything else wrong. During a traffic jam, Garlick and Cronauer’s vehicle is stopped by a convoy of soldiers; the GIs persuade him to do an impromptu “broadcast” for them, giving them a good laugh before they go off to fight. The performance for the troops – many of whom Cronauer realizes won’t come back alive – renews his sense of purpose and reminds him why his job is important during the war, and he is soon back on the air.

Dickerson devises a ploy to get rid of Cronauer by sending him and Garlick to interview soldiers in the field – knowing that the only road into this particular area, An Lộc, is controlled by the Viet Cong (VC). Their jeep is blown off the road by a mine and they are forced to hide in the jungle from the VC patrols. Back in Saigon, Tuan learns of their trip after Cronauer fails to show up for English class, then steals a van and drives off after them. He finds them, but the van breaks down and they must flag down an Army helicopter to take them back to the city.

At the station, a gleeful Dickerson confronts Cronauer, declaring he is now off the air for good. Dickerson informs Cronauser that his friend “Tuan” is actually Phan Duc To, a VC operative responsible for the bombing of Jimmy Wah’s. He will be killed if the Army catches up to him. Dickerson has arranged for an honorable discharge, provided Cronauer leaves “quietly.” Brigadier General Taylor arrives, and informs Cronauer that he cannot help this time; a US Armed Forces member being friends with a Vietcong could be a serious PR problem for the Army. Once Cronauer has left, however, Taylor informs Dickerson that he is being transferred to Guam as punishment for his vindictive attitude.

Cronauer finds Trinh and angrily persuades her to take him to her brother. Calling out his real name, he chases him into a back lot, where a tense argument erupts between Cronauer and Tuan, where the latter accuses Cronauer and the American forces of being the real enemy in the war and killing most of his family and quickly disappears from the area.

The next day, on his way to the airport, Cronauer sets up a quick softball game with the students from his English class. As he boards the plane, he gives Garlick a taped farewell message; Garlick – taking Cronauer’s place as DJ – plays the tape on the air the next morning. It begins with a yell of “Gooooooooooooooooodbye, Vietnam!” and runs through a few of Cronauer’s impressions before ending with his wish that everyone will get home safely.

REVIEW:

Good Morning, Vietnam is one of those films that I fondly remember as a kid. Why, you may ask? Well, I remember it being one of the first movies my family rented when we got a VCR, along withTop Gun(which I will be getting to later this year…hopefully). Many years later, I am now watching the DVD version, and wondering does it still have that same appeal it did back then?

What did I like?

Rockin’ Robin. Nowadays, Robin Williams is on one end of the spectrum or another, but back when this film was released he was in rare form. When he is on the air, I found myself cracking up almost as much as I did when he was on Mork & Mindy.

Not all fun and games. For all the comedy and the little love story we get, it is easy to forget that this is going on during a war. Just as we forget, buildings blow up and people die. Nice little touch of reality without getting all Saving Private Ryan on the audience.

Laugh, Forest, laugh. Forest Whitaker’s younger days are interesting to me. We know him nowadays as a serious Oscar-winning actor, but he’s also pretty good when it comes to some comedy, even if he is laughing in just about every scene, like in this film. I think, though, that is what made his character so likable, and the perfect replacement after Williams is forced to leave at the film’s conclusion.

True story. I had no idea that this was a true story. Obviously, some liberties were taken, but this guy Adrian Cronauer is a real person. From what I understand, though, he is the exact opposite of the way Williams portrayed him. It makes you wonder how this film got made. Still, I think it was an interesting story.

What didn’t I like?

Commanding douchebags. With the exception of the general, the officers in command were total douches, and for no apparent reason. Does having a couple of bars on your shoulders automatically make you the living embodiment of evil or something? It sure seemed like it here.

Mr. Charlie. I know it was Vietnam and this is a true story, but there was just something odd about the way the whole terrorist angle near the end of the film went down. Almost like it was a conspiracy. I was half expecting it to come back to the Sgt. Major.

Class act. Cronauer takes over an English class in an attempt to woo this girl he’s pursuing. My question about that is…what happened to the guy that was actually getting paid to teach that class? Is he still getting paid, or was it now Cronauer’s class. Just a minor query on my part, is all.

Naked children. I know some people out there thought this was cute to see little Vietnamese boys bathing in the street, but seriously, why was this necessary? More importantly, why was it necessary to show them full frontal?

Does Good Morning, Vietnam withstand the test of time? For me, it does. I enjoyed this film just as much, if not more than I did when I first saw it. They just don’t make pictures like this anymore, which is truly a shame. I highly recommend this to anyone that wants a good laugh. You’ll get more than your fair share by watching this, I assure you!

4 3/4 out of 5 stars

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past stars Matthew McConaughey as Connor Mead, a famous photographer and confirmed womanizer. He takes a break from his playboy lifestyle to attend his brother’s wedding, where he becomes reacquainted with Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner), the only girl who ever captured his heart. After Connor delivers a drunken speech at the rehearsal dinner where he says that love isn’t real, he’s met in the bathroom by the ghost of his uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas), a Hefner-esque horndog who taught Connor everything he knows about picking up chicks. Uncle Wayne informs Connor that, over the course of the evening, he’ll be visited by three ghosts who will lead him through his romantic past, present, and future

The first ghost to visit Connor is the “Ghost of Girlfriends Past” in the form of Allison Vandermeersh (Emma Stone), one of his high school girlfriends and his first lover. Together, they revisit scenes from his past, focusing on his relationship with Jenny. Connor and Jenny were very close as children; she gave him his first instant camera which he used to take her picture, promising to keep it forever. By middle school, the two were on the verge of romance, but Connor’s hesitation at a dance caused Jenny to dance with and kiss another boy. Heartbroken, Connor was told by Wayne that he must avoid romance at all costs in order not to feel such pain again. For the next two years, Wayne schooled Connor in the art of seduction. When he next saw Jenny, at a high school party, Connor ignored her and had sex with Allison. Several years later, as adults, Connor and Jenny rekindled their romance, but Jenny forced him to woo her for several weeks in an attempt to rid him of his womanizing ways. After they finally did have sex, Connor falls in love with her, but then panics, running out on her so he won’t be hurt. Jenny wakes up alone and broken-hearted. His relationships thereafter consisted of a series of very short flings.

Awakening back in the Mead mansion in the present, Connor accidentally destroys Paul and Sandra’s wedding cake and unsuccessfully attempts to reconcile with Jenny. As he storms out of the house, he is confronted by the “Ghost of Girlfriends Present” in the form of his assistant Melanie (Noureen DeWulf), the only constant female figure in his life. With her, he sees that in his absence the other wedding guests make fun of him and his shallow lifestyle. Paul stands up for his brother, recalling that Connor helped to raise him after their parents’ death, and expresses his hope that Connor will someday change for the better. Connor also sees that Jenny is being comforted by Brad (Daniel Sunjata), and is upset that his own actions and attitude are bringing the two closer. He is further upset to discover that Melanie and the three women who he previously broke up with via conference call are bonding over his disregard for their feelings.

Returning to the house, Connor finds Sandra furious at learning that Paul had slept with one of her bridesmaids very early in their relationship, information that Connor had let slip earlier in the evening. Connor attempts to mend the situation but only makes things worse, and Paul tells him to leave. On his way out, he is confronted by the “Ghost of Girlfriends Future” (Olga Maliouk), who takes him forward in time to see that Jenny marries Brad while Paul remains alone. Further in the future, Paul is the only mourner at Connor’s funeral. Wayne appears and tells Connor that this is his future if he continues on the same path, pushing him into the grave to be buried by his many ex-girlfriends.

Connor awakens in the Mead home and learns that Sandra has called off the wedding and is on her way to the airport. He intercepts the bridal party by driving Wayne’s classic car down the snow-covered hill and into a lake, and convinces Sandra to forgive Paul by sharing lessons learned from his own mistakes, particularly that the pain of heartbreak is outweighed by the regret of never risking one’s heart in the first place. Connor helps Jenny to pull the wedding back together and reconciles with her afterward by showing her the picture he still carries of her as a child, and promises to always be there when she wakes up. The two kiss and dance in the snow.

REVIEW:

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if A Christmas Carol was updated and used to change the ways of a womanizer, rather than someone who has become bitter and jaded about the holidays? Well, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is the film for you, as this is exactly what it does.

What did I like?

Player’s club. I’ve always thought that guys/gals that run around ”getting some” from any and everything should be taught a lesson, be that in the way of some disease or getting a total beatdown. Seeing a guy like Matthew McConaughey’s character get his comeuppance here was a thing of beauty.

Old man still has it. Michael Douglas has a fairly small, but major, role in the film as the older (deceased) uncle who has taught him everything he knows, which turned out to be his downfall a la Jacob Marley. It is good to see that he still can steal a scene at his age, then again, his dad was doing the same thing at this age, so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, should we?

Gotta love the 80s! The junior high dance scenes that took place in the 80s were radical, man! They even had some of the great music one would have heard at a dance back then!

Doppelganger II. In 13 Going on 30, Jennifer Garner’s younger self was played by Christa B. Allen. She does it again here in the early flashback scenes, and doesn’t look like she’s aged a day!

What didn’t I like?

Emma Stone. There was a time when I thought she was extremely hot. Ever since she has become a household name, though, she has become more and more annoying. Now, she is supposed to be an annoying 8th grader here, but good grief, I nearly turned the movie off everytime she was on the screen.

No Meg. If you’ve ever watched Family Guy, and are aware that in the first few episodes Meg’s voice was not Mila Kunis, but rather Lacey Chabert. I’m not sure why they made the change, but it was definitely for the better. Lacey is the bridezilla of this film and while she pulls that off perfectly, her character is just as unlikable, which is quite a shame, because at first she seemed like a bit of a sweetheart.

Not all that. There are these three girls in the wedding party who seem to be there just to get laid. If that’s what they’re into, that’s great, except none of them are that impressive looking, and the fact that one of them is the reason behind the chaos that ensues as the film progresses just makes them even less attractive.

Not even a bridesmaid. For some reason, I was pulling for McConaughey to hook up, permanently, with secretary, played by Noureen DeWulf. Just once, it would be nice if the nerdy girl in the corner would get some love without having to become what is believed to be “super sexy” (in other words take the glasses off, let her hair down, and put on a tight red dress…lol)

Too much carol. At the end of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge leans out of his window and asks a boy outside what day it is, then sends him to get a goose or turkey or something. The filmmakers decided to do a similar thing here, but they didn’t have him send the boy out for a game bird, though I half expected him to.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is not the worst thing to happen to romantic comedies. As a matter of fact it is somewhat enjoyable, but make no mistake, this is not something you’ll be going out of your way to watch over and over again. There are some good performances and the cast is alright, but something about this film keeps it from being nothing more than just an average flick. I don’t recommend this, but there are worse things you could watch.

3 out of 5 stars