Directed by: Phil Alden Robinson
Starring: Robin Williams, Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, Melissa Leo, Bob Dishy, Hamish Linklater, Richard Kind, Louis CK
Robin Williams' recent death casts a morbid shadow over The Angriest Man In Brooklyn, which even without Williams' death hanging over it is a rudderless, tone-deaf film. I've rarely seen a film in such a rush only to go absolutely nowhere, like being on an express train that suddenly breaks down and you wonder helplessly if you will be stuck on the tracks all night. It is a waste of plenty of notable talent.
Phil Alden Robinson wrote and directed Field Of Dreams, which is a great movie. His 1992 Sneakers was a decent crime caper. He hasn't directed a film since 2002's The Sum Of All Fears. I can only speculate on the reasons he chose this film as his return to directing. Perhaps on paper, it seemed like a challenging idea. I won't be tracking Robinson down to find out.
The Angriest Man in question is Henry Altmann (Williams), a Brooklyn lawyer who is having a very bad day. His car is run into by a taxi, he waits hours at a hospital for his appointment to see his regular doctor, who has taken an impromptu vacation and is replaced by the burnt-out Dr. Sharon Gill (Kunis). She has the unfortunate job of breaking the news to Henry that he is dying from a brain aneurysm. When Williams flips out demanding to know how long he has to live, she blurts out 90 minutes. Henry storms out believing that he only has 90 minutes to live and chooses to use that time to make amends to those he has hurt. If Henry didn't naively believe he only had 90 minutes to live, then we would've been spared a lot of what happens in this movie.
The wheels are in motion, but the film stays stuck in the mud. The remainder of the film involves Henry running around Brooklyn trying to reconcile with his loved ones, including his son Tommy (Linklater), who eschewed a partnership in his father's firm to open a ballroom dancing school. This choice pissed off Henry so much that the two have been estranged for two years. Henry's other son was killed two years earlier, transforming Henry from happy family man to the Angriest Man. Henry's marriage also wound up on the rocks, causing his wife (Leo) to cheat on him with their next door neighbor (Dishy). Meanwhile, Dr. Gill chases Henry around town hoping to tell him that her prognosis was wrong....not the aneurysm part but the 90 minutes to live part. Kunis plays Dr. Gill as The Angriest Woman In Brooklyn. In another film, she and Henry could have married and lived miserably ever after.
The Angriest Man In Brooklyn is a film of could haves, It could have been touching, sentimental, or at least funny. It is none of those things. Robin Williams' character undergoes so many quick transformations that he could sue for whiplash. First, he is angry, then seething, then screaming, then thoughtful, then intuitive, then sad, etc. etc. If you thought it was difficult keeping up with Williams' manic pace in his stand-up act, wait until you see Henry Altmann. Leo, Dinklage, Dishy, and even Richard Kind show up in little more than cameos. Their job is to be upset with or chase Henry down and just miss him as he leaves a place or hails a cab. By my recollection, Henry is able to travel from the hospital, to his office, to his home, and even to the Brooklyn Bridge all within 90 minutes on a Friday afternoon. This includes all of the conversations he engages others in while he is present at these places. It is surprising how little traffic there is at rush hour.
Watching Henry's failed suicide attempt will no doubt evoke the fresh memory of Williams' own suicide. The filmmakers of course could not have foreseen such a thing, but it only adds to the other issues The Angriest Man In Brooklyn suffers from. James Earl Jones (who played a pivotal role in Robinson's Field Of Dreams) shows up as a stuttering shop owner, adding to Henry's already taxed patience. This must be an inside joke, considering Jones had to overcome a debilitating stammer early in life to become an actor. But in this film, it is just one more contrived roadblock in the way of Henry's path to happiness.
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