Robin Williams starred in some of the best movies of the 1980s, but there is one movie that seems to be too often forgotten: Popeye. With iconic movies like Dead Poets Society, Good Morning Vietnam, and The World According to Garp, not to mention the hit show Mork & Mindy, Williams exploded (figuratively and almost literally) onto the scene with his madcap sense of humor and his ability to channel dramatic emotion that came from deep down within him. Popeye was his very first starring role in a movie, and only his second movie ever, and it often gets overlooked, which is a shame.
Yeah, It’s Pretty Weird
Popeye is strange, I’ll give you that. The 1980 release is like a cocaine and LSD feverdream at times, but that’s all part of its charm. When I first saw the movie as a kid, I had no sense of that, but I did immediately love it. It’s the kind of movie that is completely different for adults as it is for kids, and I mean that in the most complimentary way. As a kid, I appreciated the slapstick comedy and Williams’ comically large forearms (just like Popeye in the comics).
As an adult, I love the whole absurdist aspect of the comedy, the acting performances, and the songs. Did I mention that it’s a musical, too? Yep, it’s got a little bit of everything, including a soundtrack from the late songwriter Harry Nilsson. While it rarely ranks among Robin Williams’ best movies, his take on the legendary sailor man is pitch-perfect. His mumbly delivery and cartoonish facial expressions are amazing. He’s a comic strip come to life.
The Cast And The Sets Are Amazing
It’s not just Williams carrying the load in Popeye, either. Shelly Duvall is perfect as Olive Oyl, both for how she looks and how she behaves. Like Williams, it’s like she leaped off the page of the Sunday funny papers in one of her best performances on screen. Paul L. Smith, who was mostly known for playing heavies in movies like Midnight Express and David Lynch’s Dune, shows off his comedic chops as Bluto. The rest of the supporting cast, like Paul Dooley as Wimpy and Ray Walston as Poopdeck Pappy, are also fantastic.
The other aspect that really is perfect is the amazing set design. The director Robert Altman hired a crew to build the entire village of Sweethaven from scratch in Malta. In fact, it’s still there today and open to tourists. I’ve never been to Malta, but something like this makes the idea very appealing. The set looks so cool, both on screen and in the pictures of it today. It strikes the perfect balance between cartoon and live-action, which isn’t easy to do.
If you’ve never seen this underrated ‘80s classic, you can watch it for free, as long as you have a library card. It’s available to stream to both Kanopy and Hoopla. Take a chance, I’ll bet you’ll love it!
