Robin Williams: Live on Broadway

So what's the problem? I think perhaps 99 minutes or so of one man comically riffing about anything and everything is still perhaps a bit too long for its own good. I've watched this on more than one occasion, and by the hour mark I always feel myself getting rather exhausted by Williams' highly energetic schtick. It is not necessarily that his material starts to become significantly weaker or repetitive (although his French-bashing does get a little tiresome after a while), but while you still marvel at Williams' energy level...I dunno, I just kinda got tired of it on some level after a while. Williams' energy may not flag, but ours does...at least until he rebounds at the end with some good bits about American sports and then about sex, particularly Viagra. Believe me, when you see his take on Viagra, you will laugh hysterically in spite of yourself.

In short, for me, "Robin Williams: Live on Broadway" is a mostly brilliant but perhaps overlong standup comedy piece (a standup comedy "epic" if there ever was one). It would have gotten five stars as a more focused hourlong show; instead, this one sprawls until we in the audience start feeling a little exhausted by his endlessly energetic (and highly profane) style. And yet there is enough brilliant stuff here---his riffs about the war in Afghanistan and homeland security rival the best, and overall there are plenty of small but great bits here and there that will grab your attention---so that this is definitely worth seeing. Certainly you will be amazed that Robin Williams actually pulls the whole damned thing off at all. Recommended.

NOTE: I have seen "Robin Williams: Live on Broadway" as it first premiered on HBO, and for some reason it is slightly longer than the program that appears on this DVD. It is beyond me why CMV Home Video thought it necessary to make some small cuts to the program for this DVD edition. (For instance, it cuts out a lines during the parts where he cracks humorously about Michael Jackson and the Enron scandal.) At least, though, the program is not significantly cut (it's only missing about a few seconds worth of material from the initial broadcast), and overall it is very much intact. (Besides, HBO and its other channels have been showing this marginally-cut version of the program on its stations ever since, anyway.) Just thought people would like to know, though.


Funny as hell   July 12, 2004
Buddy Twaz (Crack Pipe, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Man Robin Williams funny as hell. I pissed my pants i was laughin so damn hard. This is a great dvd. It has an easter egg that shows every cuss word he says it is hilarious. He goes on about so many diffrent topics. Its crazy. Someone must have put something in that water, he went threw about 20 bottles of it. My favorite part was when he was doin the bit about drunk scots inventing golf. " i wanna hit a ball in a gopher hole" "OH you mean like pool?" "Fu*k off pool! Not with a straight stick! With a little fu*ked up stick." " OH you mean like croquet?" "Fu*k croquet! Well put the ball hundreds of yards away. And well put tall grass and bushes just to fu*k with your ball. And at the end well put a flat spot with a flag just to give you hope. Then well put sand and bushes just to fu*k with your ball again!"
In one word Id say this movie was Geniusly Awesome super terrificly pimped out. (OK i cheated a little)


A masterpiece by a genius   July 5, 2004
Talk about high-energy comedy. Wow!

This guy is incredible. What a sick puppy. But hilarious.

And, where the heck did all that water go?


Hilarious.   June 19, 2004
I am a semi-fan of Robin Willaims. I almost lost all respect for him when he did Death to Smoochy, but this really made me have more respect for him than I did before. Good work, espeicially the way he makes hilarious comments on religion, but not so SACRELIGIOUS that it offended me in any way (I'm a devoted Christian.) I didn't understand the point of the special feature, the hidden easter egg, but I don't understand why he does alot of things, which I guess is what makes it funny. lol.


This will make you pee your pants, really!   May 4, 2004
jerry preusser (Los Angeles)
The funniest material I have seen since that Chris Rock show at the Appolo. Robin Williams is pure genuis. I really can't imagine how intense that must be to do this show. Hundreds of clever moments of which some are improvised. Complete with a sweat soaked shirt. Get this video. I watched it 4 times.