I’m guessing that the events that transpired a few weeks ago gave the powers-that-be who decide what films will run in our theaters that final push to green light this movie. It is, after all, one of Robin Williams’ last. It’s sad and despicable that it’s garnering more attention because of his death, but the cynical side of me isn’t suprised; it’s just how the world works I guess. This movie, by the way, was a remake of the 1997 film The 92 Minutes of Mr. Baum.
Here’s the round-up of Phil Alden Robinson (The Sum of All Fears)’s The Angriest Man in Brooklyn.
Please note that there may be spoilers. Read at your own risk.
THE STORY:
Henry Altman (Robin Williams – Jumanji) used to be a happy man. With a loving wife Bette (Melissa Leo – The Fighter), two sons Tommy (Hamish Linklater – The Crazy Ones) and Peter, and as well as a thriving law practice that he shares with his brother Aaron (Peter Dinklage – X-Men: Days of Future Past), there really isn’t much that Henry could ask for. But when one of his sons come to an untimely death, things change for the worse – Henry’s temper becomes more violent and volatile, driving away his wife, his remaining son and his brother to estrangement.
During a routine check up, Henry is informed by Dr. Sharon Gil (Mila Kunis – Black Swan), a doctor who’s covering for Henry’s usual phsycian, that his brain scans show that he has an aneurysm that can literally pop at any moment. This news causes great distress to Henry who automatically falls back to his go-to defense mechanism: anger. He demands to know how long he has to live and Dr. Gil, who is going through somewhat of a rough day herself, tells him that he has ninety minutes to shut him up. Thus begins Henry’s race – and Dr. Gil’s as well, once she realizes how dangerous it was to set Henry loose in the city – against time to correct his past mistakes against the people he loves.
THE GOOD:
- Hamish Linklater. It took me a while to recognize him because of the hair, but it’s definitely still Andrew (from The Crazy Ones). There are very few actors who can hit the sweet spot between emotional and comedic like this guy, and he did it with so very few lines too.
- The scene of Henry running to yhat restaurant. There was a bit in the movie that had Robin Williams running in the middle of the street, from lamp post to lamp post, with this look of giddy hopefulness on his face. As far as last memorable sequences go, this was a pretty good one to remember him by.
- The emotional whallop near the end, when Tommy and Henry finally got to dish it out. That had me in tears because, whatever else this movie may not be, being incapable of pulling and tugging at your heartstrings is not one of them.
THE BAD:
- The crappy narration. It wss inconsistent and unecessary, especially the ones from Mila Kunis’s character. Nobody really cared for what she was going through, and I doubt if the Israeli equivalent of Dr. Sharon Gil got as much screen time. Probably not, but maybe the actor wasn’t also one of the film’s excecutive producers.
- Dr. Sharon Gil as a character. I don’t think I can stress enough how unlikable she is. She’s a horrible person and there’s no amount of backstory of childhood trauma they put in there can justify how bad she is. Proof? Her words tp dissuade someone from jumping off the Brooklyn Brigdge was “if you jump, my life is irrevocably fucked”. Yes. Because that is the therapeutic way of talking someone out of committing suicide.
- The implied romance between Aaron and Sharon. Uhhh, no?
THE UGLY:
- The feeling of disjointedness. My main problem with this movie was its apparent lack of conviction in setting a definitive tone. Was it meant to be serious? Or was it all supposed to be a comedy? I’m guessing that it was supposed to be a satire of some sort but the execution was severely lacking. It honestly felt like the director had a problem saying no to each and every idea that the cast, producers, etc, pitched to him so we got this emotional amalgalm of a film.
- Robin Williams. As much as it pains me to say it, but he probably wasn’t the best choice to portray Henry. Sure, he pretty much nailed all of the emotional scenes but being who he is (was), it made it difficult to take Henry’s situation seriously. While perfectly capable, this role just wasn’t the right fit.
All in all The Angriesr Man in Brooklyn was a disappointing movie because it had everything it needed to be something good – a strong set cast of actors, a gorgeous city filled with things to make the last ninety minutes of somebody’s life interesting, an story that packs quite an emotional punch in the gut – but somehow it just didn’t work. I’m of the opinion that this was just a classic case of too many cooks in the kitchen, that’s why the final product ended up being so muddled. It’s a shame that this movie was one of the last we’ll remember one of our generation’s greatest actors by.
THE VERDICT: 5/10
*All photos are lifted from the film’s IMDB page.
