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The Fisher King (1991)
Director: Terry Gilliam
Writer: Richard LaGravenese
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Adam Bryant
Genre: Drama Comedy
That screenshot from the Chinese restaurant was my favorite scene. I loved the set design there too with its gorgeous blue and red Chinese motif as a backdrop. The last hour of the film when the Amanda Plummer story line came into focus was more to my liking than the first hour. The first hour was a bit hectic and truth be told I'm not a big fan of Robin Williams. I had hoped Williams might be more restrained in this but he often went into his famous long improvs. While he was really good at improv and stream of consciousness monologues, I had a hard time connecting to his character. I know he would've been very capable of delivering some serious, heart felt drama like other skilled comedians have done if he was reined in some. Perhaps it's Terry Gilliam's indulgences in allowing so much improvisational scenes...sometimes those work and at other times they are distracting from the theme of the movie.
Jeff Bridges was fine here, I never think of him as a great actor but he's always reliable. Some of my favorite scenes were in the video store, gosh I loved looking at that store with all those old VHS tapes on display. I thought Mercedes Ruehl was a stand out, she was especially good during the emotional conflict scenes with Bridges. Mercedes definitely made the most out of her air time.
I wasn't too deeply ingrained into the movie's story but I found things to like. Besides all the aforementioned stuff I just mused over...I have to give a big shout out to the super cool New York City shooting locations.
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The Fisher King (1991)
Writer: Richard LaGravenese
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Adam Bryant
Genre: Drama Comedy
"A former radio DJ, suicidally despondent because of a terrible mistake he made, finds redemption in helping a deranged homeless man who was an unwitting victim of that mistake."
That screenshot from the Chinese restaurant was my favorite scene. I loved the set design there too with its gorgeous blue and red Chinese motif as a backdrop. The last hour of the film when the Amanda Plummer story line came into focus was more to my liking than the first hour. The first hour was a bit hectic and truth be told I'm not a big fan of Robin Williams. I had hoped Williams might be more restrained in this but he often went into his famous long improvs. While he was really good at improv and stream of consciousness monologues, I had a hard time connecting to his character. I know he would've been very capable of delivering some serious, heart felt drama like other skilled comedians have done if he was reined in some. Perhaps it's Terry Gilliam's indulgences in allowing so much improvisational scenes...sometimes those work and at other times they are distracting from the theme of the movie.
Jeff Bridges was fine here, I never think of him as a great actor but he's always reliable. Some of my favorite scenes were in the video store, gosh I loved looking at that store with all those old VHS tapes on display. I thought Mercedes Ruehl was a stand out, she was especially good during the emotional conflict scenes with Bridges. Mercedes definitely made the most out of her air time.
I wasn't too deeply ingrained into the movie's story but I found things to like. Besides all the aforementioned stuff I just mused over...I have to give a big shout out to the super cool New York City shooting locations.
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