I love Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges. They are phenomenal actors and I was excited to watch them in this movie. But they nor this movie were really that good.
The Fisher King was a slog to get through. It really was. Jack Lucas' character arc was not really believable, I found him as insufferable at the end of the movie as I did from the opening scene. I was surprised by Jeff Bridges inability to do more with the character, though the script deserves a lot of the blame. Robin Williams was just kind of generic (for him). His performance here wasn't transcendent like other roles of his in Good Morning Vietnam or Good Will Hunting or even admirable like in Dead Poets' Society or Insomnia. It was fine, but nothing special.
I will concede the movie grows increasingly endearing during the time when Jack and Anne are trying to help Parry woo Lydia. But this does not make up for the movie as a whole, and I truly do not understand the widespread acclaim this picture received. Merecedes Ruehl was a lone bright spot, she made every scene better.
At the end of the day, I feel like The Fisher King thought it was about something really really important but ended up being really trivial and ordinary.
The Fisher King was a slog to get through. It really was. Jack Lucas' character arc was not really believable, I found him as insufferable at the end of the movie as I did from the opening scene. I was surprised by Jeff Bridges inability to do more with the character, though the script deserves a lot of the blame. Robin Williams was just kind of generic (for him). His performance here wasn't transcendent like other roles of his in Good Morning Vietnam or Good Will Hunting or even admirable like in Dead Poets' Society or Insomnia. It was fine, but nothing special.
I will concede the movie grows increasingly endearing during the time when Jack and Anne are trying to help Parry woo Lydia. But this does not make up for the movie as a whole, and I truly do not understand the widespread acclaim this picture received. Merecedes Ruehl was a lone bright spot, she made every scene better.
At the end of the day, I feel like The Fisher King thought it was about something really really important but ended up being really trivial and ordinary.