Bill

I just saw this movie again after many years. I always remembered seeing it on TV and it left me with such a lasting impression. It had been so many years, that when I just watched it I cried all over again like it was the first time I had ever seen it. I have been watching some of the Andy Hardy films lately, and I think that Mickey Rooney was an under-appreciated actor. I know that there are some negative things on the 'Message Boards', but all I can say is my one meeting with him was very positive- My son's class went to see him in the production of the 'Wizard of Oz' at Madison Square Garden where he played the Wizard. He was gracious to everyone, especially the children. For me it was a dream come true. If you are a fan of Mickey Rooney and have never seen this film, please do... you will love it. The sequel, 'Bill on his Own' is also a wonderful film. I would recommend you seeing both to complete the experience of seeing Mickey in his Emmy Award winning role!

Actually I think I should apologize to Micky Rooney for personally thinking of him as I first encountered him. Andy Hardy. Even with his rolls in Boy's Town, National Velvet and The Human Comedy, I could never take him as a serious actor. Watching his performance as "Bill" was one of the truly outstanding portrayals I ever saw. I now saw Mickey as a consummate artists of his trade. I'm sorry it took me fifty years to really see it. The story of Bill and the Bills' like him is happening all over the world. Just this year, the county I live in closed the County Home. There were two people who were just the type that "Bill" was. Thinking of this story makes be wonder what will become of them. I would like to see the movie replayed again to help folks to be more aware that our communities have this problem. Mickey Rooney played this with such warmth, skill and awareness that I say THANK YOU for your eye opening characterization of Bill.

I saw this movie for the first time when I was about 12 years old. I had grown up around older people, but no one with disabilities. At the beginning of the movie I remember feeling sorry for Bill, however, by the end of the movie I felt sorry for the people who didn't know Bill or have a Bill in there life. After watching this movie, I became more aware of the people around me with disabilities and befriended several. I finally began working with the developmentally disabled in my 30's and my life has never been richer. This movie was such an eye opener for me and I highly recommend it to everyone. I've watched this movie with my eldest nephew and plan to watch it with the other children in my family so that they know people with disabilities are just as capable and deserving of respect and not to be frightened of. This is a MUST see for EVERYONE!!!!

"Bill" is a wonderful TV-movie, one of the best ever made. It doesn't have flashy sets; it doesn't have special effects; it's set in Minnesota and Iowa in the dead of winter, not very exciting or scenic places. What it does have is one of Mickey Rooney's best performances, and unarguably one of the most sweet, poignant and winning characters he's ever played. He won the Golden Globe for his performance, and it's easy to see why.

The film is based on Barry Morrow, an independent filmmaker who happened to run across Bill, an older man who was thought to be mentally challenged, and started doing a documentary on his life. Along the way Barry discovered that Bill was as smart as anyone else, but that he'd been locked up in a mental institution since he was 5 years old and treated as if he was mentally handicapped. Bill's early life isn't touched on in more than a random way, but what we do hear is terrifying; abuse of a normal child on a grand scale. Abuse so bad that Bill can only survive by acting like the rest of the inmates. When Barry takes Bill back to the institution to film a segment, Bill's reaction is pitiable.

Barry is played by Dennis Quaid in one of his early roles, and he's great in some scenes, merely passable in others. Luckily, the great scenes outnumber the passable ones. The rest of the cast are good with the exception of Largo Woodruff, who plays Barry's wife. She is alternately pouty, nasty, spoiled-rotten or smiley, with no subtleties in-between. She is the only drawback to the film; if she had only downplayed some of her more dramatic scenes she would have been much easier to take. However, she doesn't harm the movie in any real way; it's all Rooney's film and he's the reason to watch it. A sequel was made several years later with Mickey reprising his role and Helen Hunt playing the college student who took Bill under her wing. It is more of a routine TV movie; Mickey is good but the story doesn't have the magic of the first.

This film deserves to be seen more than it is. It's especially right for the Christmas season, since the real Bill loved to play Santa. This is a family staple in our house and we watch it every Christmas, marveling at just how magical "Bill" is.

Absolutely the best of all films ever made about mental retardation, even better than the great Charly. A simple but touching story of a challenged man trying to get through life on his own, with all the childlike fun and laughter, all the love to and from accepting friends, and all the immense frustration of just trying to get by from day to day with a deck always stacked against him. Bill was not a fairy tale film like Forrest Gump was, or a distortion of the real truth about autistic sufferers as was Rain Man, but a realistic story about a lovable little man with a tough disorder but lots of guts that had me laughing and crying in about equal doses but caring deeply all the way. What more can we want from any entertainment? See this film to laugh and to cry and ultimately to revel in the achievements of man not cowed or even slowed by misfortune.

Has there even been a multi-tasking Hollywood talent to equal Mickey Rooney's? Surely not, and he has many times over the years been judged by his peers to be the most talented pro in Hollywood. I heartily agree. He is a very old man now and will be gone soon, so try to appreciate some of his great work before that time comes. Start with Bill and get ready to be fascinated.