ROBIN WILLIAMS IN THE ANGRIEST MAN IN BROOKLYN

2014 rating: **

Promoted as a FALLING DOWN meets DOA… of a bitter guy thinking he has a small amount of time to live, running wild in the streets of New York… THE ANGRIEST MAN IN BROOKLYN goes in one ear and out the other...

Too bad since the recently-departed Robin Williams had so much talent, and his career-spanning portrayals of flawed characters in an eclectic bouquet of films, ranging from dramas with comedic elements to comedies with serious undertones, gave hope to fans that this might’ve been… well given the low budget and straight-to-DVD look, not exactly a comeback… but a chance for the actor to shine once again, proving himself a worthy dramatic actor in a career derailed into cameos and goofy voice-overs.

The plot centers on Williams as stiff-suit-wearing Henry Altmann, beginning with the irritated grouch on the road in yet another working day morning of a seemingly dire existence… He gets in a traffic accident and at the hospital, a young female replacement doctor mistakenly gives him 90 minutes to live. Thus Altmann takes to the streets, attempting to make emends with people ranging from his brother, wife, son, old friends and meeting perfect strangers along the way. Although the potential is limitless, the most intriguing aspect occurs later on: When Henry frantically tells a cop all he’s been through, the desperate rant is far more interesting than the extremely dull journey, wasting the talents of both Williams and Mila Kunis (who also produced) as the guilt-ridden doctor on his trail... Yet the real shame is that Robin seems handcuffed to the scant plotline and filler dialogue, without riffing on his own spontaneous gusto, something he built an entire career on. Sure, even the funniest ad-libs wouldn’t have healed this ANGRIEST MAN, providing mere band aids to a full body cast, but seeing Williams trying to flesh out a skeleton would have been entertaining enough.