The Angriest Man in Brooklyn

Director: Phil Alden Robinson
Year Released: 2014
Rating: 0.0

A perpetually peeved lawyer (Robin Williams) is told by his doctor (Mila Kunis) that based on the results of his brain scan (aneurysm!) he has ninety minutes to live (?) - despite being an apparently educated man, he takes this seriously and starts running amok in the title borough, reuniting with an old friend, his estranged wife and eventually, his son (Hamish Linklater) who turned down a law career to be a dance instructor. The screenplay is unbelievably terrible, and that's even taking the hackneyed setup out of it: there's a scene where Williams buys a camcorder from a stuttering electronic shop owner (James Earl Jones) - which is, in itself, an uncomfortable moment - and then follows it up with Williams asking homeless people to record him giving a cringe-inducing speech directly into the purchased camera (which is hard to watch). Not only are the contrivances a hindrance, but the dialogue needed a major re-write ("Anger is my refuge, it's my shield. Anger is my birthright!"). It is eerie as a harbinger of Williams' fate (who was born in '51 and did die in '14), but he deserved a better send-off than this (though, to be fair, Williams appeared in many a questionably-made movie).