Robin Williams - icon

In case you haven't heard, and you probably have because this blog is not about breaking news, Robin Williams passed away yesterday at the age of 63. Given the past history of comedians with substance abuse issues, we're lucky he was with us that long.

Too often an artist passes and the word icon is used. The word loses its impact we hear it so much. Robin Williams was an icon. A soul so monumentally talented, not one piece you read will capture it. From his stand up in the 70s to his film work beginning in the 80s his uniqueness was evident. I mean, who else did improvisational bits on stage in the manner of Shakespeare? Like Richard Pryor, he was able to take things inherently unfunny like drug use, bigotry, or as taboo as sexuality and in a near-manic delivery make us see it in a ridiculous context making it both sidesplittingly funny, and poignantly tragic. That was the genius of his stand up.

Like Steve Martin, his filmwork was memorable because he was able to bring the stand up's "just beneath the surface darkness," or "what's he gonna say next" anxiety to any role - comedic or dramatic. It made the characters he portrayed so compelling. Be it Garp, Adrian Cronauer, John Keating, Peter Pan, whomever, they were all so good. Shit, he was even funny in The Best Of Times opposite Kurt Russell. There are too many to list.

I remember watching him on an HBO Young Comedians special. His beret, tight 70s tee shirt, and the way he went from voice to voice, and idea to idea as he migrated from stage to audience - it was so captivating. The Mr Rogers voice as he would delve into drugs, or sex. The thick Shakespearean accent as he would segue way into penis references. I remember Robin Williams: Live At The Met going from Robin Leach's voice to his son Zach's kiddy voice and a "Fuck it." I remember him singing Springsteen's "Fire" in Elmer Fudd voice. It was like watching a master chef just grabbing ingredients and mixing them up without any concern at the moment of the outcome. The drunk asshole voice, the hippy voice, the dumb guy voice - I can hear them all.

I remember his pained expression on "The World According To Garp" when he discovered his wife's infidelity. I remember his hopeful countenance as he counseled troubled genius Will Hunting. The smile he shows as recounting meeting his wife to be and missing Game 6 and "Fisk's homah" without regretting - so human.

Instead of recounting them all, just go to YouTube, and search "Robin Williams." Watch them all. Use the boss's bandwidth. Hell, call your boss over to watch some of them. They're probably bummed too.

Robin Williams, such a human. We're told we're made in the image of The Creator. If that is the case, then creativity is our most divine ability. I'll miss him so much.

Welcome back Kevin!!!

Kevin Costner is in five movies this year. Five! I was wondering what happened to him until he was in Hatfields and McCoys on History Channel last year.

I've been a Kevin Costner fan since The Untouchables. I've silently endured friendly, or pretentious, barbs from friends about his work. In truth his body of work stands out. He's made what I consider 2 great films: Bull Durham, and Dances with Wolves. No Way Out, The Untouchables, Field Of Dreams, Open Range, Tin Cup, For Love Of The Game, JFK were all really good movies. Waterworld was underrated (but still overpriced). Sure, Robin Hood was kinda lame, and Wyatt Earp was just too dense and too long to be an interesting bio. Still, it's nice to see him back on the screen in multiple features because I really think he's talented. He's made some really compelling cinema over the decades.

His great films are Bull Durham and Dance With Wolves. Bull Durham is the iconic baseball movie. It's better than Pride Of The Yankees; better than Eight Men Out; better than A League Of Their Own; and yes, better than Major League. Making it to the Show is a pervasive dream in America. So many players don't make it, but that doesn't diminish them. Funny things, dreams. They're full of hope, and impossible to kill almost. Crash Davis' dream doesn't end in Bull Durham, it just takes a different form. Dances With Wolves is unfairly (in my opinion) maligned as being the wrong film to win the Best Picture Oscar in 1991. Many critics now say Goodfellas should have won the Oscar. I disagree. Goodfellas is great, and an iconic mobster movie, but Dances is better. Goodfellas had an amazing performances from Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta, and DeNiro, but it was pretty much Godfather II. Dances was unlike any story before (A Man Called Horse was similar). Dances also had 4 outstanding performances from Costner, Graham Greene (Kicking Bird), Mary McDonnell (Stands With A Fist), and Rodney Grant (Wind In His Hair). It's scope it epic, and it holds you for 3 hours.

His merely "good" films are; No Way Out, The Untouchables (which Sean Connery steals), Field Of Dreams, Tin Cup, For Love Of The Game, Open Range, JFK. I don't know about you, but that's a pretty good list. Some actors would give up a nut for a list of credits like that on a resume. No Way Out is a first rate political/spy action thriller with a great twist. The Untouchables, stolen by Connery who was awesome, is a recounting of the hunt for Capone (played by DeNiro - who also kicks ass) by Elliot Ness during Prohibition. Field Of Dreams captures the romance of baseball as the game that unites generations across time. Open Range is a great revisionist western starring Robert Duvall and Costner. Costner's character has edge, and undergoes a transformation. As Jim Garrison in Oliver Stone's JFK he's everyone's hero as America's greatest conspiracy theorist, and again for the duration he draws you in to Garrison's humanity alongside the conspiracy stuff. For Love Of The Game, and Tin Cup he brings back the everyman that lies within every athlete, and when competition begins the everyman persona goes beneath the athlete's zen. Jake in Kasdan's traditional western Silverado was fun to watch. Garrett in the girlie/chick flick Message In A Bottle is compelling. Sure, some stinkers like Robin Hood, or The Bodyguard, or Revenge. Who doesn't make one of those here and there. (Ask Clooney about Dusk Till Dawn). Even his biggest flop Waterworld, which was an incredible waste of money, is actually a fun adventure to watch.

All that said it's good to see Kevin Costner make a comeback of sorts. That's a good thing in the industry dominated by self importance to see a reasonably grounded actor like Kevin Costner. It feels good to say I'm a Kevin Costner fan, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.