Robin Williams: 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Regardless of whether someone loves or hates Robin Williams’ movies, it is difficult to argue that the actor was not a comedic genius. He had an odd way of not just making people laugh but connecting with them on an all-too-human level. This ability to identify with audiences made him a household name and catapulted him into a comedy god.

While Williams’ comedy films are the easiest remembered of his films, that particular genre only spoke to a certain aspect of his capabilities as an actor. Robin Williams could make viewers laugh and cry in the same film, even at the same moment. It was his gift to mankind. Here are Robin Williams’ best movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes.

10. One Hour Photo – 81%

Robin Williams was without a doubt the single biggest comedian of the 1990s. His roles in Aladdin, Ms. Doubtfire, and Jumanji captivated audiences worldwide; however, at the start of the 21st-century, fans got a sense of his real capabilities as an actor during some of his more serious roles.

One of these roles was in 2002’s One Hour Photo, where Williams played a lonely photo technician that developed a deep obsession with some of his customers. Overall, it was one of William’s darkest roles and one of the more fascinating.

9. The Fisher King – 83%

During the height of his fame, Robbin Williams broke out of his comedic roles to join the cast of The Fisher King. Jeff Bridges’ shock jock Jack Lucas finds himself about to commit suicide after his comments on the air results in the deaths of innocents.

As he is about to end it all, a homeless man named Parry, played by Williams, convinces Lucas that his redemption lies in finding the Holy Grail. However, it isn’t the mythical object that saves Lucas but the good deed he does for Parry.

8. Dead Poets Society – 84%

Even though the Dead Poets Society received quite a number of scathing reviews that criticized it for being nothing more than a period film that pandered to younger audiences, it didn’t stop audiences from seeing it, making it one of Robin Williams’ more successful films. The movie was set in the 1950s in an uptight preparatory academy.

Robbin Williams plays a new teacher that inspires his students to think about history and life in a completely different manner than they had before. The film became an instant classic that is still watched religiously to this day.

7. Moscow On The Hudson – 86%

Moscow On The Hudson was released in theaters in 1984. It was Williams’ first attempt to break away from the pure comedy movies he was accustomed to making at the time. The film, which was made during the Cold War, details the life of a Russian saxophone player who works in a circus.

When the circus comes to New York City, William’s character defects from his home country to follow his dreams in a foreign land. While not one of Williams’ more popular movies, Moscow On The Hudson has one of his more solid performances as an actor.

6. Awakenings – 88%

Awakenings is based on an Oliver Slack memoir. It is a heartbreaking film of a doctor in 1969, played by Robin Williams, who injects a new drug into patients who have been in a coma for decades from an outbreak of encephalitis.

The patients miraculously awake from their slumber only to find a world they no longer recognize. One of these patients is played by Robert De Niro, who the movie follows as he finds love only to realize the medicine’s effects are temporary, giving him only a short time to enjoy the life around him.

5. World’s Greatest Dad – 88%

While Robin Williams has starred in dramas and comedies alike, 2009’s World’s Greatest Dad found him at the center of a dark comedy/drama. The movie is about an unsuccessful, lonely poetry teacher who is hated by everyone at the school where he teaches.

When his son accidentally commits suicide through auto-erotic asphyxiation, Williams pens a touching suicide note in his son’s name. He gains fame and book deals for the supposed letter he writes but soon learns that he would rather be alone than with phony people.

4. Good Morning, Vietnam – 90%

Good Morning, Vietnam was one of Robbin Williams’s most successful films and earned the actor his first Oscar nomination and Golden Globe award. The film has a nice blend of comedy and drama that isn’t always displayed in war films.

Williams’ character plays a service DJ in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He attempts to bring relief to the troops around him through comedy, as he battles with his own emotion about the war and the way his superiors are running it.

3. Insomnia – 92%

Two things you might not always expect in a Robin Williams movie: Al Pacino and Christopher Nolan. Yet, even though the cast and director might not have been the perfect fit for a Robin William’s movie, they somehow managed to make it work, delivering captivating performances all around.

Insomnia is set in a small Alaskan village plagued with unsolved murders. An LAPD detective who is wrought with guilt for accidentally killing his partner is sent to investigate the murders only to discover that a local crime writer played by Robin Williams is the murderer.

2. Aladdin – 95%

The animated film Aladdin ranks as one of Robin William’s prized jewels with his portrayal as the Genie of the lamp. The movie was praised by moviegoers and critics alike, who raved about how it was one of the best animated Disney films of all time. Williams’ Genie is set free from his lamp prison by a thief named Aladdin.

Genie proceeds to give Aladdin three wishes only to realize that their bond goes beyond master and servant. Both Williams’ musical and comedic performances were spot on in this film.

1. Good Will Hunting – 97%

While Williams was a multifaceted actor who could play many different kinds of roles, his performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting earned him the praise from detractors and loyal fans that he deserved.

Matt Damon portrays a downtrodden Boston 20-year-old who, after assaulting a police officer, is forced to go to counseling. During his therapy sessions with a psychologist played by Robin Williams, Damon’s character comes to terms with his genius-level intellect, while making important life changes to better his personal situation and relationships.