A História não Autorizada de Mork e Mindy

I just watched this movie on it's premier night out of curiosity and sheer nostalgia. I liked (not loved) "Mork & Mindy" as a kid, mostly for Robin William's zany energetic performance. This movie made me remember why. Was the original show great? Not really, but Robin certainly was. Which brings me to this movie.

I was pleasantly surprised, expecting nothing more than a paint by numbers chronological retelling of the show (which in a way it was). But, of course, the real focus was on Robin. It was interesting to see Robin's journey from struggling street jester to national t.v star, and how such a drastic difference affected him and his long suffering wife. And my hat is off to star Chris Diamantopoulos as he portrayed Mr. Williams with integrity, sensitivity, and heart; not just a cute impression, although it was even dead-on. (On an unrelated note, I noticed that Robin's struggles were in some ways similar to Andy Kaufman, who was under-appreciated by network t.v. and held back creatively, but that's the "Taxi" behind the scenes biopic.)

All in all, this was a very enjoyable flick, in which I felt I got to know a little more of the man behind the Orkan. The acting was solid by all- never melodramatic like I suspected- and the story moved along well. Performances that were particularly good were by those who played Garry Marshall and John Belushi (the scene in which Belushi heckles Robin was a hoot!). Not a great masterpiece by any means (I would have liked to have seen a tad more about Pam Dawber), but definitely watchable, especially for those Robin Williams and "Mork & Mindy" fans out there. Nanoo, nanoo!

Much like Robin Williams being the main headliner for Mork and Mindy, Chris Diamantopoulos is amazing as a young / out of control Robin Williams in this decent made for television movie. Although this is a movie dealing with cocaine, NBC manages to only show the drug for about 10 seconds in this 90 minute movie. Daniel Roebuck is OK as Gary Marshall. Since his portrayal of Jay Leno in HBO's Late Shift, it's hard to see him in any other role. Although a strong character actor like Chris Diamantopoulos, he manages to give a good enough performance. Even though the Gary Marshall story is woven into the Robin Williams story, it is Robin's story that keeps the audience watching. Some interesting moments throughout the movie, you are unable to turn the television off until the end credits.

For those fans of the original "Mork & Mindy" show in the 70's, this was a believable look into the early career of Robin Williams, now widely regarded as a comic genius and respected actor. The fact that it was "unauthorized" is probably meant to convey that no punches were pulled, and the dirty laundry gets aired. This was the case here as well. The producers took pains to recreate the characters from the show both physically with regard to personality. They go out of their way to put forth the fact that Williams almost became typecast for his Mork role, and the tedium and frustration that the part produced for him. After all, his fans knew he was something special when they saw him for 5 minutes on "Happy Days". His manic, rapid fire improvisational brilliance continues to amaze to this day, and yet, through this TV movie, we see how close he may have come to losing it all in the early 80's. My only qualm is that I have been unable to locate the credit for the actor who played John Belushi.

I don't now know where this kid came from who played Robin Williams but he was channeling. It was astounding at times. The writing was as good as it could get for someone trying to capture Robin's crazy improv in a script. And I gotta tell you, it made me cry. I really felt empathy with Robin and Valerie. When Robin walked away from his crippling vice and into the best years of his marriage and fatherhood and a mostly sparkling movie career, I was moved to tears.

Sometimes, these insider TV movies can be terribly cheesy. This one benefited greatly by the lead performance and Daniel Roebuck's loving turn as Garry Marshall. These people are heroes of mine and I came out of this movie with even more admiration for them than ever before.

My wife and I attended the same High School as Chris and my wife, Karen H. appeared in Man of La Mancha with Chris. We knew he was destined for great things then, and the performance we saw last night proved that right. We were told of his role minutes before the movie aired and was very glad that we got the call. Chris did a fantastic job as Robin, we were both very impressed. Daniel Roebuck was excellent as Gary Marshall. I understand that with every "unauthorized" biopic there is always some artistic license taken, I always watch these movies with some apprehension. But thanks to the terrific performances by the cast, it was more entertainment, than educational.

Great job Chris! Karen H. East York Collegiatge and myself are all proud of you.