Poll: Robin Williams: Actor or Comic?

[Gorrister]

So, exam season is approaching so naturally, I have been "revising" (which consists of me spending all day on Youtube with occasional breaks to make a cup of tea or post something here). Whilst "revising" I came across something I haven't seen in years. Robbin Williams' take on Alcohol and Marijuana.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIWB-Neyj-c

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at a stand up comedy routine in all my life. Just recently, I watched his "Weapons of Self Destruction Tour" (his latest one) and he is still, even after all these years, on top of his game, perfecting satire into almost an art form.

But! I'm also reminded of his top notch acting abilities! Jack, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting and many others. So I pose this question The Escapist. What do you feel he's best at?

 

[Cherry Cola]

He's neither

He's an OG

Original Gamer

 

[Omikron009]

I highly dislike Robin Williams. He does the same few impressions with very little variation and he is unfunny. However, he does have those rare moments of brilliance that cause me to laugh for 20 minutes nonstop and pee my pants.

 

[Trivun]

Equal. He's proven his comic abilities in certain films (such as RV: Runaway Vacation) and his stand-up stuff, proven his acting abilities separately with serious roles (such as in Good Will Hunting, One Hour Photo, and others), and then proven he can do roles which call for both seriousness and comedy, such as Jumanji and Good Morning Vietnam. I like him equally as a serious actor and a comedian, and we need more people like that around in film and TV nowadays.

 

[Raven's Nest]

He's great at both. I love him as the genie especially (hence the avatar). I don't think an animated character has ever been given so much life by an actor...

 

[CakeDragon]

I highly dislike Robin Williams. He does the same few impressions with very little variation and he is unfunny. However, he does have those rare moments of brilliance that cause me to laugh for 20 minutes nonstop and pee my pants.

I feel the same way... I like the movie's that he's in, I just hate the guy himself. He's funny to begin with, but after a time he just gets boring and repetitive.
However, it can be said that Mrs Doubtfire is a pretty funny movie

Also, I just noticed, your avatar is Gonzo when your posting status is 'Gone Gonzo', that makes me rather happy

 

[cleverlymadeup]

he was more funny when he was all coked out but still pretty funny now

however he is a both an actor and a comedian. he can surprisingly do some good dramatic stuff too

 

[sirdanrhodes]

He is a great actor, however, his stand up leaves much to be desired.

 

[Gigaguy64]

he was more funny when he was all coked out but still pretty funny now

however he is a both an actor and a comedian. he can surprisingly do some good dramatic stuff too

Agreed.

When he was in the movie "The Awakenings"....oh god i cried so hard.

He is a great all around entertainer and a gamer.

 

[dmase]

Overall equally but here recently he has been in some complete shit movies and i never watched very much of his stand up.

 

[Zing]

He's just equally amazing at both, his stand-up is hilarious and he's been nominated for 4 Oscars and won 1. Both his comedy and dramatic roles in films are great.

Edit: to be specific, this is a while ago I'm talking about, his movies aren't great now, he doesn't get any good roles which sucks.

But in the hey-day of Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting etc. he was as good as it gets.

 

[-BloodRush-]

bro is an actor.

the movie Hook proves it.

 

[Archemetis]

He's both.
Well as far as I'm concerned anyway.

 

[Macgyvercas]

I personally think he's great at both. And even if people here don't like his acting or stand-up (who are you?), you have to respect him because he's proud to admit that he's a gamer.

 

[solidstatemind]

Old School Robin Williams is the hardest I've ever laughed in my life. Live at the Met comes to mind.

I was thinking he was a better comic until I remembered One Hour Photo. It was amazing how creepy he was in that role. Wow.

So, yeah, great at both. In this case, I actually don't think it's a copout (like it usually is).

 

[CD-R]

You should see some of his stand up from back in the day when he was on cocaine.

He was nuts, and it was amazing.

 

[ribonuge]

He was in Flubber and Jumanji. He has my respect.

 

[Gorrister]

You should see some of his stand up from back in the day when he was on cocaine.

He was nuts, and it was amazing.

1982? I think I saw some of it. It had me in tears. I've just been watching a lot of him all day, I can't stop!

 

[GodKlown]

At one time, Robin Williams was good at both acting and comedy, much like Eddie Murphy. However, both have pretty much slid down a slope, whereas Murphy is really struggling hard to come back. Williams' standup is still good, despite his age and him cleaning up his lifestyle. However, his movie roles have been pretty terrible in the last five years or so.
A lot of the comedy movies of late have been rather unfunny, and it would take a hell of a writer to devise a good script that would really suit Williams, without going back over territory he has covered (as in a sequel to Mrs. Doubtfire or something like that). I'm really surprised he hasn't attempted to launch his own film around a comedy character he created himself. Perhaps that is what he needs to restart his film career.

 

[SturmDolch]

I hate him. He's one of those sweety-pie guys, that drown people in compliments. Their eyes look suspiciously full of make-up. Ugh.