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Jul 10, 2013britprincess1 rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
What can you say about THE FISHER KING? It's definitely a weird one. I found this film quite difficult to watch. It felt long and weird. It's not that Terry Gilliam's style doesn't agree with me; I actually quite enjoyed FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS. The premise for this film is certainly solid, the story of a shock jock who witnesses the repercussions of his words, but something in the execution didn't sit right. In addition, Jeff Bridges was plain unlikable. Even through his story arc with all its ups and downs, I failed to see him redeem himself. He did a few nice turns, but he made them seem like hard work, almost like he related to Sisyphus, pushing that rock up that hill only to watch it tumble back down. Bridges might as well scream, "Well, what's the point?" Mercedes Ruehl, however, was an interesting character, but unfortunately, she served little purpose to the plot, essentially the dame along for the ride. And lastly, the ravings of Robin Williams, which tend toward laughter typically, were used incorrectly here. Yes, Robin Williams has a tongue that runs a mile a minute, but he always seems in control of it, firmly connected from mind to mouth, but here, there's a disconnect. Every time he goes into his signature rambling mode, all of his words are bruised by the blunt driving force of his self-imposed homelessness and the severeness of his PTSD gone berserk. Yes, there's a statement about the fragility of the human psyche, but this point is framed in a story (or at least, a game plan) concocted by a disturbed man looking for the holy grail. Unless a loyal fan of Gilliam's work, I don't suspect you'll find the holy grail here.