'Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind' - Movie Review

This is a 2018 HBO production about the life of Robin Williams. They have the good sense to get out of the way, to let him and his friends tell you who he was and how his life went. He was possibly the most maniacal person alive who wasn't institutionalized, but also possibly the funniest man of his generation. The movie uses clips from his movie and TV performances, TV interviews, home movies, photos, even old recordings of his stand-up performances, to build a picture of his life. The first half of the film was screamingly funny, with his meteoric rise to fame and his incredible, rapid-fire improv. The second half sees him well established, but struggling with addiction, insecurity (which is depressingly common even among famous people), and debilitating disease - which led to his suicide. It's a very good tribute to a spectacularly funny man.

I didn't know that the character of "Mork" later found on "Mork & Mindy" originated on "Happy Days." Nor did I know he had classical acting training from Julliard.

UPDATE (a couple days later): watching this inspired me to go to YouTube to try to find some of Williams' stand-up. What I started to watch was "Live at the Met," which the movie had excerpted to great effect. But what I found was that I (still) can't take the man in large doses: he's simply too manic, too wild, his stories too disjointed. His anecdotes are much better when broken up by calmer, more fact-based stories ...