THE UNAUTHORIZED STORY OF 'MORK & MINDY'

If I said to you, 'nanu, nanu', whilst signalling the Vulcan sign for 'I have a rabbit' with one hand, what would you think I was doing? (1) Resting against an invisible wall? (2) Defining the circumference of pie in Greek? Or (3) Insinuating that I'm going to tell you about a film directed by Neill Fearnley and starring Chris Diamantopoulos, Erinn Hayes, and Tyler Labine. It was made in 2005 and lasts for 90 minutes.


Mork and Mindy: The Story - The Show

THE STORY:

Now it's pretty safe to say that life wasn't always so hectic for animated buffoon, Robin Williams (Chris Diamantopoulos). Once upon a time, this bodacious seventies comedian just tried his best to please his wife, Valerie (Michelle Harrison), by doing his shtick on the streets, in the clubs, and by partaking in the now-defunct Richard Pryor show.

However, one day, all of that turned around when Robin met two television bods - Garry Marshall and Harvey Severson (Daniel Roebuck and David Richmond-Peck) - who introduced him to the wonderful world of 'Mork and Mindy'.

Heyyyyyy!

In retrospect, this 'event' was both a joyous and strained experience for Robin to be a part of. On the one hand, he got to work with some great writers, directors, and beautiful people, such as Pam Dawber (Erinn Hayes). On the other hand, though, Robin started to feel confined by the television ratings system, the censorship guide, plus a certain celebrity who inadvertently steered him down a dark and dismal path of no return.

No. Not Raquel Welsh (Ona Grauer). More's the pity. John Belushi (Tyler Labine). The coke-head comic of 'Saturday Night Live', who shows Robin an outlet to temper his newfound trappings of fame, drugs. 

Shazbot!

Oh! And if you think that's bad, due to this fledgling drug habit, Robin grows estranged from his wife, Valerie, his dependency affects the show, and on top of that, sh*t happens too!

Well, when I say 'sh*t', what I mean by this is that what next transpires is a task that not even Orson can resolve. As films come a calling - shows start a falling - relationships begin to fly - plus a friend and a sitcom eventually die.

  

THE REVIEW:

Now like many of you who are the same age as I am (five-hundred and seven), I'm sure that you were first introduced to Robin Williams by watching him on the 'Mork and Mindy' television show. Heck, I can remember it as if it were yesterday. Channel Four. Six O'clock. Just after a program about asparagus. Bang! 'Nah-noo, nah-noo' became the buzzword for the next half an hour or so, within a sitcom that was jam-packed with colorful characters that made me laugh from start to finish.

And do you know what? Since then, I have become a huge Robin Williams fan. No. Let me rephrase that statement. A HHUUUUGGGEE Robin Williams fan. Here, check out some of these filmic facts for a myopic illustration of this. (1) Mork & Mindy ran from 1978 to 1982, and was distributed by the NBC television network. (2) Mork's first appearance came in the fifth season of the hit sit-com 'Happy Days', in an episode called 'My Favorite Orkan'. (3) In the movie, the Harvey Severson character is based on the real-life series director, Howard Storm. Whilst the Lila Milford character was based on the real-life series writer, April Kelly. (4) Most of the storylines in this sitcom were centered on Mork trying to understand the fundamental truth behind human behavior,  aided and abetted by my poor, pretty Mindy. (5) Robin Williams used to improvise so much on set, that gaps were inserted into the script so he could 'riff' off a routine. (6) The actor playing Jay Leno in this flick actually won this small role in a contest held by 'The Tonight Show'. (7) Pam Dawber once stated that she had to bite her own lip so she would not ruin a take whilst acting with Robin. (8) Mork & Mindy became so popular that it even outranked the program that spawned it, 'Happy Days', as well as 'The Waltons' and ' Battlestar Galactica'. (9) Several recurring characters were left out of this television movie, Such as Nelson Flavor [Jim Staahl], Exidor [Robert Donner], Mr. Bickley [Tom Poston], Cathy McConnell [Shelley Fabares], and Glenda Faye Comstock [Crissy Wilzak Comstock]. (10) In 1987, Pam Dawber married the actor who plays Gibbs in 'NCIS', Mark Harmon. They have two sons together. (11) Robin Williams has been married three times. Firstly, to Valerie Velardi, who gave him a son, Zak, whilst he gave her herpes. No joke. Secondly, to Marsha Garces Williams, who gave him two children, Zelda and Cody, whilst he gave her irreconcilable differences. Still no joke. And thirdly, to Susan Schneider. So far, so good.

OK, so now that I've got that off my chest, how good is 'The Unauthorized Story of Mork and Mindy'? Is it a Shazbot? Or is it a Hardy-Har-Har?

Well, it's a little bit of both, I suppose, because I wasn't too keen on three things in this flick. Firstly, I did not like the way that the 'John Belushi' character seemed to act as a dark pariah for the 'Robin Williams' character, almost insinuating that John was the chap who led Robin astray. Secondly, I felt that the overall narrative told more than it showed. Not really illustrating the 'dark side' of Robin Williams, just giving us related exposition after the fact. And thirdly, considering this film was meant to be about 'Mork and Mindy', there wasn't that much of 'Mindy' in it, which is a shame.

Apart from that, though, I have to say that I really did enjoy watching this true-life dramatization. I thought that all the actors -- especially the main core group, Daniel David, Chris, and Erinn -- really did pull off imitating their respective roles very well indeed. Not once did I think to myself, 'Who is that supposed to be?' or 'That's not right!', because they all captured the essence of the characters that they were supposed to portray. What's more, the underlying 'message' that this movie is trying to convey -- one relating to knowing what you want to do, rather than presuming that you know what you want to do -- is a very valid message to express.

Granted, 'The Unauthorised Story of Mork and Mindy' isn't the best film I have ever seen. But in the same breath, it is far from being the worst, either. I personally like to think of it as a film well worth watching, but only if you're a fan of Robin, biopics, seventies television, and jovial narratives. Wouldn't you agree, pre-selected YouTube clip?

Ha! What a clown.

THE RATING: A