Good Morning, Vietnam is a 1987 American war-comedy film written by Mitch Markowitz and directed
by Barry Levinson.
Set in Saigon in 1965, during the Vietnam War, the film stars Robin Williams as a radio
DJ on Armed Forces Radio Service, who proves hugely popular with the troops, but infuriates
his superiors with what they call his "irreverent tendency".
The story is loosely based on the experiences of AFRS radio DJ Adrian Cronauer.
Most of Williams' radio broadcasts were improvised.
Williams was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
The film is number 100 on "AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs".
Plot In 1965, Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer
arrives in Saigon from Crete to work as a DJ for Armed Forces Radio Service.
Cronauer is greeted by Private First Class Edward Montesquieu Garlick.
Cronauer's irreverence contrasts sharply with many staff members and soon rouses the ire
of two of his superiors, Second Lieutenant Steven Hauk and Sergeant Major Phillip Dickerson.
Hauk adheres to strict Army guidelines in terms of humor and music programming, while
Dickerson is annoyed by Cronauer's behavior in general.
However, Brigadier General Taylor and the other DJs quickly grow to like the new man
and his brand of comedy.
Cronauer's show consists of unpredictable humor segments mixed with news updates and
rock and roll records that are frowned upon by his superiors.
Cronauer meets Trinh, a Vietnamese girl, and follows her to an English class.
Bribing the teacher to let him take over the job, Cronauer starts instructing the students
in the use of American slang.
Once class is dismissed, he tries to talk to Trinh but is stopped by her brother Tuan.
Instead, Cronauer befriends Tuan and takes him to Jimmy Wah's, the local GI bar, to have
drinks with Garlick and the station staff.
Two other soldiers, angered at Tuan's presence, initiate a confrontation that Cronauer escalates
into a brawl.
Dickerson reprimands Cronauer for this incident, but his broadcasts continue as before.
While relaxing in Jimmy Wah's one afternoon, he is pulled outside by Tuan moments before
the building explodes, killing two soldiers and leaving Cronauer badly shaken.
The cause of the explosion is determined to be a bomb; the news is censored, but Cronauer
locks himself in the studio and reports it anyway.
Dickerson cuts off the broadcast and Cronauer is suspended.
Hauk takes over his shows, but his poor attempts at comedy and insistence on playing polka
music lead to a flood of letters and phone calls from servicemen who demand that Cronauer
be put back on the air.
In the meantime, Cronauer spends his time drinking and pursuing Trinh, only to be rebuffed
at every attempt.
At the radio station, Taylor intervenes on Cronauer's behalf, ordering Hauk to reinstate
him, but Cronauer refuses to go back to work.
Garlick's and Cronauer's vehicle becomes stopped in a congested street amidst a convoy of soldiers
from the 1st Infantry Division, who persuade him to do an impromptu "broadcast" for them
before they go off to Nha Trang to fight.
This incident reminds him why his job is important, and he soon returns to the air.
Dickerson devises a ploy to get rid of Cronauer by sending him and Garlick to interview soldiers
in the field, knowing that the only road into the area, a highway to An Lộc, is controlled
by the Viet Cong.
Their Jeep is blown off the road by a mine and they are forced to hide in the jungle
from the VC patrols.
In Saigon, Tuan, who learns of their trip after Cronauer fails to show up for English
class, steals a van and drives off after them.
He finds them, but the van breaks down and they must flag down a Marine helicopter to
take them back to the city.
At the station, Dickerson confronts Cronauer, declaring he is now off the air for good.
His friend Tuan is revealed as a VC operative who was responsible for the bombing of Jimmy
Wah's.
Dickerson has arranged for an honorable discharge, provided Cronauer leaves "quietly."
General Taylor arrives and informs Cronauer that, regrettably, he cannot help him since
his friendship with Tuan would place the reputation of the US Army at risk.
After Taylor leaves, Cronauer asks Dickerson why he engineered his dismissal.
Dickerson openly admits his personal dislike for Cronauer, his sense of humor, and his
style of broadcasting.
After Cronauer leaves, Taylor, casually informs an astonished Dickerson that he is being transferred
to Guam, presumably as a punishment for his vendetta against Cronauer.
The next day, on his way to the airport, Cronauer sets up a quick softball game with the students
from his English class.
As he boards the plane, he gives Garlick a taped farewell message; Garlick – taking
Cronauer's place as DJ – plays the tape on the air the next morning.
It begins with a yell of "Gooooooooooooooooodbye, Vietnam!"
and runs through a few of Cronauer's impressions before ending with his wish that everyone
will get home safely.
Cast
Production In 1979, Adrian Cronauer pitched a sitcom
based on his experiences as an AFRS DJ.
TV networks were not interested, however, because they did not see war as comedy material,
even though one of the most popular shows at the time was M*A*S*H. Cronauer then revamped
his sitcom into a script for a movie of the week, which eventually got the attention of
Robin Williams.
Very little of Cronauer's original treatment remained after writer Mitch Markowitz was
brought in.
The film was shot in Bangkok, Thailand.
Awards and honors Robin Williams was awarded a Golden Globe
Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical", and an
American Comedy Award for "Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture".
He was also nominated for a "Best Actor" Academy Award, a "Best Actor" BAFTA Award, and a San
Jordi Award in Barcelona for "Best Foreign Actor".
Forest Whitaker was awarded a San Jordi Award for "Best Foreign Actor" for his work on this
film and Bird.
Alex North was awarded the ASCAP Award for the film's original music.
The film won the Political Film Society Award for Peace, and was nominated for a "Best Sound"
BAFTA Award.
In 2000, the film was included in the American Film Institute's list of the 100 funniest
American movies during 100 years: AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs.
Soundtrack The soundtrack album included only the songs
indicated with an asterisk above.
It was certified platinum in the US.
Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World was released as a single because of the film and
reached position 32 on the US Top 40, 20 years after its original release.
References
External links
Good Morning, Vietnam at the Internet Movie Database
Good Morning, Vietnam at the TCM Movie Database Good Morning, Vietnam at AllMovie
Good Morning, Vietnam at Rotten Tomatoes Good Morning, Vietnam at Box Office Mojo
Good Morning Vietnam at The Numbers