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Robin Williams selected filmography:
The 80s ---------------
Popeye (1980)- Williams 1st major film role was a total flop musical adaptation of the comic strip, mis-directed by Robert Altman, with somber songs by Harry Nillson. the movie's general weirdness, and Nilllson's songs, have developed a bit of a cult reputation for it.
The World According to Garp (1982) - Williams shines in this tragicomedy, beautifully adapted from the picaresque Irving novel by George Roy Hill, earning Oscar nominations for Glenn Close and John Lithgow.
The Survivors (1983) - This comic misfire by Michael Ritchie teamed Williams with Walter Matthau to less than spectacular results.
Moscow on the Hudson(1984) - Williams got a Golden Globe nomination as a Russian musician defecting in NYC in this sweet Paul Mazursky film.
Club Paradise (1986) - This Harold Ramis "comedy" is a blight on the career of Peter O'Toole.
The Best of Times (1986) - Williams teams with Kurt Russell in a comedy about guys trying to rewrite their high school football failures with one last big game. Pedestrian, but the Ron Shelton script gives it a whiff of authentic jockitude.
Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) - Williams's biggest critical and commercial hit to this point, he won a Golden Globe and got an Oscar nomination for his performance as an irreverent Vietnam War Armed Forces DJ, directed by Barry Levinson. Its the first time a director figured out how to let Williams be Williams on screen, and it relaunched Williams' career as not only an actor but as a movie star.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) - Terry Gilliam's surreal fantasy features a great cameo by Williams as the king of the moon in an otherwise earthbound piece of whimsy.
Dead Poets Society (1989) - Peter Weir directed this old fashioned "inspiring teacher" tale that earned big BO and a pocketful of awards, including Oscar and Globe nominations for Williams; it's not my favorite Weir or Williams film and is too polite by half, but its a solid entertainment despite the hollow platitudes of its Oscar-winning script.
The 90s --------------------
Cadillac Man (1990) - Williams teams with Tim Robbins in this unfunny comedy about a car salesman trying to talk a gun-toting biker, insane with jealousy, out of shooting up the car dealership, and so redeem his crappy life.
Awakenings (1990) - Williams got a GGlobe nomination opposite Robert DeNiro, playing it straight in this medical drama based on a true story, directed with heavy-handed obviousness and piety by Penny (Laverne) Marshall. Her brother Gary had originally launched Robin's TV career with HAPPY DAYS and MORK.
Dead Again (1991 ) - Williams is great in a small part as a doctor involved in Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson's comic noir about reincarnated lovers. It came and went, but has evolved a solid critical and cult rep.
The Fisher King (1991) - Re-teaming with Terry Gilliam, Williams got a GG award and an Oscar nomination opposite Jeff Bridges, as a man driven insane by tragic loss who inspires a cynical, broken radio shock jock into committing an act of faith. A story of friendship, trauma, love and redemption, and the best film of his career. Gilliam, working from an Oscar winning script by Richard LaGravenese, made his second look at the Grail legend into his most coherent and moving film.
Hook (1991) - Overproduced, underwhelming Peter Pan sequel by Spielberg was a hit, with Williams as a grown up Pan who has forgotten who he is, Dustin Hoffman chewing the scenery as Captain Hook, and Julia Roberts as Tink. The movie isn't directed, it's art directed. Neverland is a candy-colored theme park, and the action is slapdash. Still, there is something that resonates about a father who has to reclaim his youthful spirit in order to save his children.
Toys(1992) - Another triumph of art direction over narrative, this time Williams re-teams with Barry Levinson in an over-stylized, incomprehensibly allegorical example of lead-footed whimsy. It does have a good soundrack, though, and i always like Joan Cusack.
Aladdin (1992) - Williams' genie is a special effect that launched this otherwise mediocre Disney cartoon into the stratosphere on the wings of a few great Alan Menken songs.
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) - Williams won a Golden Globe for this cross-dressing TOOTSIE-style comedy about a divorced dad trying to spend time with his kids and keep a job. It was a mega-hit, the biggest of Williams' career. But the film, by hackmeister Chris Columbus, lacks the teeth to deal with divorce honestly, and it overly sentimentalizes everything. Still, it's entertaining in its own manipulative way.There was a sequel being written but that project is now likely cancelled with his death. But there is still a Broadway musical adaptation being developed.
Being Human (1994) - Terrific Scot director Bill Forsyth (LOCAL HERO) couldn't execute the ambition of his own screenplay in this disappointing film with Williams as a single soul reincarnated throughout history.
Jumanji (1995) - This family fantasy adventure about a magical board game is almost overwhelmed by its effects, but it retains its heart, thanks to Williams and Bonnie Hunt.
Nine Months (1995) - Chris Columbus strikes again, with a Hugh Grant romantic comedy that is neither romantic nor particularly comic, except for Williams in a supporting role as a mad Russian obstetrician.
Jack (1995) - Francis Ford Coppola crashed and burned with this comic drama about a child with premature aging who becomes Robin Williams, in the style of BIG-type body-switching comedies. The problem was the comedy wasn't funny and the drama wasn't dramatic, and Coppola clearly had no interest in this crap.
The Birdcage (1996) - This Mike Nichols remake of the French comedy LA CAGE AUX FOLLES is a hilarious adaptation, teaming Williams with Nathan Lane as a gay couple running a drag nightclub in south beach, pretending to be straight married couple when they host their son's fiance and future in-laws (conservative politician played by Gene Hackman). Its funny and poignant, and was a huge hit. Williams is actually the "straight man" for Lane's amazingly over the top yet touching drag queen. Hank Azaria's houseboy is a comic gem of a performance.
Good Will Hunting (1997) - Williams finally won an Oscar for his supporting performance as the psychologist to Matt Damon's southie savant. The Damon-Affleck script and performances offer surprisingly strong context for Williams' sort of working-class headshrinker.
Flubber (1997) - Disney remake based on a John Hughes script; it was a hit, but just awful on every level.
Fathers' Day (1997) - If one French adaptation with Williams worked, why not another? Here, Williams and Billy Crystal remake LES COMPRERES in a film by Ivan Reitman, and it doesn't work at all.
Patch Adams (1998) - Williams got another Globe nomination for this mediocre dramedy about a doctor who challenges the medical establishment and wants to heal through humor. Ugh. Even the real Patch Adams hated it.
What Dreams May Come (1998) Based on a classic story by legendary SF/fantasy writer Richard Matheson, this deeply affecting story of love after death offers a ravishing vision of the afterworld that won Oscars for its art direction and visual effects. I know some have a problem with this movie, but it left me bawling like an infant.
Bicentennial Man (1999) - The ineluctable Chris Columbus pops up once more to nearly ruin this Asimov story of a robot on his journey towards personhood, but Williams snatches it away and steers it safely to harbor within the human heart. Like WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, many view this as mawkish and overly sentimental, and i cannot argue. But it worked for me.
Jacob the Liar (1999) - wow, was this a bad idea. If LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, then JACOB is decidedly not.
The new millenium ---------------
Insomnia (2002) - Chris Nolan adapted a Norwegian thriller, with Williams as a serial killer in Alaska and Al Pacino as a corrupt cop in pursuit. The film was well received, and Williams was a chilling psycho, but it felt lethargic and meandering to me.
Death to Smoochy (2002) - Danny DeVito's black comedy about a corrupt and murderous kiddie show host was a total disaster on every level, but its undiluted and uncompromising misanthropy has made this something of a cult film over the years.
One Hour Photo (2002) - Like INSOMNIA, Williams again plays a psycho stalking a family he thinks he is a part of. Reminiscent in some ways of TAXI DRIVER, it was a low budget indie thriller that made some money and has earned a critical reputation.
The Final Cut (2004) - This European SF drama raises issues of privacy, surveillance and memory, but doesn't dramatize them, and is just dull and obscure.
Robots (2005) - An amusing CGI-animated SF feature, with Williams in a solid supporting role as a broken down robot.
Man of the Year (2006) - The third time is not the charm for Williams as he re-teams with Barry Levinson for this wan political satire that lacks bite and loses its focus.
Night at the Museum (2006) - This hit family fantasy with Ben Stiller features Williams in a solid supporting performance as Teddy Roosevelt. Not memorable, but not bad. Williams reprises the role in the film's 2 sequels, which are even less memorable and much less "not bad".
Happy Feet (2006) - Williams is great as a latin penguin in George (The Road Warrior) Miller's CGI animated conservation movie and its sequel.
RV (2006) - mildly amusing family comedy by Barry Sonnenfeld, with workaholic Williams learning the value of "family" on a disastrous vacation.
August Rush (2007) - Williams as a Fagin-like figure, exploiting the musical talents of runaways, including a savant orphan who believes his parents are alive and looking for him in NYC. Like many Williams dramas, its schmaltzy and sentimental, but its supposed to be, so your tolerance for that will dictate your reaction. But our human interconnectedness through music is a compelling theme regardless.
World's Greatest Dad (2009) This underrated and overlooked black comedy by Bobcat Goldthwait about a father exploiting the death of his own son is a perverse little gem of social satire.
Old Dogs (2009) - Instead of 3 MEN AND A BABY, it's 2 IDIOTS AND SOME TWINS, with Williams and John Travolta in as bad a movie as Williams ever made.
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