Of course, it was the ’80s, and the market demanded awful comedies, which Williams was obliged to make until that special breakthrough role that would propel him out of yuppie slapstick. Williams’ follow-up, The World According to Garp, was quick to reveal the sensitive artist, the melancholic side to the actor that sought fulfillment in dramatic characters and movies. Robin Williams earned his big-screen debut as Popeye in 1980 on the the growing popularity of his frenzied, freewheeling stand-up routine, and his literally out-of-this-world role on TV’s Mork & Mindy. Cynics need not bother.(Photo by Columbia/courtesy Everett Collection) All Robin Williams Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer Most viewers will see the intent of "August Rush" coming from a mile away, so at least they'll know what they're getting into. Terrence Howard appears briefly as a social worker. Williams dips into his dark side for Wizard, while Sadler is saddled with the film's silliest dialogue. (Then again, you worry about a film in which the leading man is prettier than the leading lady.) But the main reason for their casting was surely aesthetic only two people this purely beautiful could have produced a child like Evan. Russell and Rhys Meyers adequately pull off their respective imitations of musicians (he actually does his own singing). He makes his character feel real and natural, an outcast marching to a different drummer. Highmore's achievement here is expressing joy without turning into a kid viewers will want to smack. She shows no fear in embracing the shopworn contrivances, and as a result the film manages to rise above the cliches and take on the magical realism that springs from the mind of Evan. Kirsten Sheridan, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter ("In America") and the daughter of director Jim Sheridan, directed "August Rush" from a screenplay by Nick Castle and James V. Multiple near-misses and miscommunications occur before the characters meet their destiny. Wizard recognizes Evan for the gem that he is and rechristens him August Rush. Thomas III), the film's Artful Dodger, takes Evan to Maxwell "Wizard" Wallace (Robin Williams), a Fagin-esque street performer who oversees a group of rough-edged musical kids who play for coins around the city. He also starts playing instruments for the first time in his life and turns out to be a musical genius. This sort of thing may have played in Dickens' time, but it's beyond ridiculous now.Įvan ends up in New York City, which offers him a billion new sounds to process. It's impossible not to physically groan when the movie gets to the part that explains how Lyla's baby ended up in the care of the state. Lyla and Louis had one magical night together, but Thomas doesn't want his daughter distracted from her musical career. Well, actually, cellist Lyla (Keri Russell) was separated from rock singer-guitarist Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) by her father, Thomas (William Sadler). Evan hears music in everything, be it natural or manmade, and he hears the song of his parents reaching out to him.Īs it happens, his parents are both musicians who were parted by an evil wizard. Highmore is even able to pull off the New Age-y ponderings of the film's Oliver Twist, a boy named Evan who has grown up in orphanages but holds fast to the belief that his parents are alive and will find him. "August Rush" is an obviously manipulative, corny, contrived movie, and you'd have to have a heart of stone not to be seduced by its string-pulling charms.Ĭhief among those is Freddie Highmore, the young star of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Finding Neverland." He's one of the least precocious and most adorable child actors working today, and every film that he's in deserves at least a chance. Rated: PG (for some thematic elements, mild violence and language.) Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, William Sadler, Robin Williams, Freddie Highmore, Terrence Howard
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