main index




Topical Tropes

Other Categories

TV Tropes Org
Film: Good Morning Vietnam

"This is not a test, this is ROCK AND ROLL!"

A film released in 1987 set in The Vietnam War, Very Loosely Based on a True Story of Air Force DJ Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) assigned to host radio programs for the Army.

He's brash, off-color and sexually offensive — and the troops can't get enough of him! He meddles in the affairs of the Army, annoys his superiors to no end and makes friends with a young Vietnamese boy and his sister while teaching their English class.

Robin Williams got nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor for this film.

"Goood Morning Tropes!":

  • Acronym and Abbreviation Overload
  • Bittersweet Ending: Cronauer is kicked out of Vietnam for his unwitting friendship with a VC. Despite his obvious shock and sadness, he does have a few more hours with his beloved English class playing softball with what look like mangoes and bamboo, and gets to say goodbye to Trinh.
  • Bar Brawl: Instigated when Adrian takes very justifiable offense at two soldiers using racist slurs about Tuan, then pushing him to the floor. Adrian gets in a headbutt on one of the rednecks and knocks him down! Then another, which turns out like a Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh... complete with Oh Crap, goes out like a light, but fortunately his fellow radio personnel back him up. Earns him a dressing down at the hands of Dickerson.
  • Blithe Spirit: Adrian Cronauer, to the constant frustration of his superiors.
  • Blunt Metaphors Trauma: Remedied, when Cronauer teaches English to a class of Vietnamese. One sample quiz:
    Adrian Cronauer: Okay, if someone is not telling the truth, you say that they are full of...
    Vietnamese Class: Shit!
    Adrian Cronauer: If someone has made you angry or angrier, they have...
    Vietnamese Class: Pissed me off!
  • Bowdlerize: In a television broadcast, much of Robin's blue humor was bowdlerized. Ironic, considering the plot.
  • Chaplain Obvious: Noel, the army chaplain.
    "This great Godly miracle of radio really gives me the opportunity to speak to you on the air!"
  • Catch Phrase: "GOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!" Best wake-up call ever.
  • Could Say It But: Cronauer broadcasts an unapproved news report in this fashion and is yanked off the air because of it.
    • Cronauer was firsthand witness to the destruction of Jimmy Wah's and the death of at least one serviceman, so we can understand his need to report on it.
    Cronauer: (of the blood on his shirt) Where do you think THIS came from, shaving?! It's the truth, I'd like to report the truth; it'd be a nice change of pace!
  • Despair Event Horizon: Adrian hits it in the village, after Trinh bluntly rebuffs his advances of friendship.
    "... Great week..."
  • Don't Call Me Sir: Sgt. Dickerson is particularly insistent on this point, taking excessive pride in his non-commissioned status. Ironic, considering the times he tries to pull rank on Cronauer.
    Dickerson: You stay out of my way, there'll be no problem... but if you toy with me, I'll burn you so bad, you'll wish you'd died as a child. Am I being fairly clear?
    Cronauer: Yes, sir.
    Dickerson: Sir! I work for a living, airman. You will address me as Sergeant Major Dickerson.
    Cronauer: Yes, Sergeant Major Dickerson.
    Dickerson: Cronauer, you better stay cool. You better not get involved in anything. You better not even come in range of anything that happens. Or your ass is grass and I'm a lawnmower. Am I being fairly clear?
    Dickerson: Do you see anything on this uniform indicating an officer? [Pointing to his rank insignia] What does three up and three down mean to you, airman?
    Cronauer: End of an inning?
    • Also an example of Shown Their Work: In the US Air Force (Cronauer), it is common to call your superiors "sir" whether commissioned or not, but in the Army (Dickerson), the term is reserved for commissioned officers and will earn you the ire of any NCO on the receiving end.
  • Evil All Along: Tuan, aka Phan Duc Tho, VC terrorist. Bomber of, among other places, Jimmy Wah's.
  • Facepalm: Marty pulls a rather epic double-facepalm at Lt. Hawk's....err jokes.
    • Implied in poor Garlick's tone when hopelessly telling Cronauer he needs very specific family-sanctioned introductions to talk to his love interest, before posing as a teacher in her English class.
  • Fire-Breathing Diner: It's Vietnamese cooking!
    Adrian Cronauer: Shit! This stuff is burning the hair off my feet!
    • Ironic in that Vietnamese is actually one of the only South Asian cuisines (due to the century-long imperial presence of France) that doesn't use high spice levels for flavoring.
  • Giftedly Bad: Hauk has certain opinions on what is and isn't funny, but his routine falls flat. He even goes so far as to use a squeaky horn for comedic interrupts and bleeping.
    Hauk: In my heart, I know I'm funny.
  • Gilligan Cut: Tuan arranges a date between his sister, Trinh, and Adrian, but warns Adrian that he won't like it when he gets there; he'll say it's ridiculous. "Why? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Cue Trinh in front of a dozen of her family members serving as chaperones and greeting Adrian, and his looking less than pleased.
  • Gung Holier Than Thou: Dickerson.
  • Harpo Does Something Funny: It is impossible to write dialogue like Cronauer's radio broadcasts. They just pointed Robin in the general direction they wanted him to go and let him run.
  • Heroic BSOD: Cronauer gets into a bit of a funk following his suspension (see Could Say It But above). He's reluctant to return to the radio even after Gen. Taylor revokes the suspension, until...
    • He's Back: ...Edward, driving Cronauer, pulls over near a troop convoy and convinces him to do an impromptu session to prove that Cronauer really is loved by the troops, come what may.
  • Hollywood History: The real Adrian Cronauer readily admits he was nowhere near as funny or outrageous as Williams. Most of the movie, in fact, is fabricated. Cronauer just played rock music with no commentary, and was sent home when his tour was over.
  • Incredibly Lame Pun: Cronauer refers to his slot as 'the Adrian Cron-hour'.
  • Insult Backfire: When Jimmy tells Adrian of his Fetish Fuel, soldiers' ankles, and offers Adrian his bar for pictures of them, he says, "You're a very sick man, you know that, don't you?" and Jimmy takes it as a great compliment.
  • Meaningless Villain Victory: Sgt. Dickerson does manage to get Cronauer off the air, but in doing so, he shows himself to be such a petty, mean spirited asshole that General Taylor can't stomach him anymore and has him reassigned to Guam. Gen. Taylor also puts Garlick in charge of the show knowing full well that he keep things going the way Crounauer would have.
  • Mickey Mousing: A minor example: an establishing shot of soldiers de-boarding from a carrier plane is synced up to another of those polka records Hauk loves so much.
  • Mood Whiplash: The movie starts off very funny and irreverent, as Cronauer adjusts (or doesn't) to life in South Vietnam with characteristic hilarity. Then he's almost blown up by a VC bomb, and finds out that the Vietnamese kid he'd become friendly with is actually a North Vietnamese spy trying to kill as many Americans as he can, and Cronauer eventually becomes horribly disillusioned with the whole situation. Needless to say, the movie ends on a bit of a downer.
  • No Indoor Voice
    Cronauer: (faking like he's taking a phone call) Who's this?
    Cronauer: (faking like he's calling in): BOB!
    Cronauer: Hey Bob, what do you do?
    Cronauer: ARTILLERY!
    Cronauer: What can we play for you?
  • Passing the Torch: A middle scene has Cronauer messing with Garlick to see what he'd be like as a radio host. After he's reassigned because of his unwitting friendship to a VC, Garlick takes his place.
  • Reassigned to Guam: Sgt. Dickerson's ultimate punishment for his vindictiveness towards Cronauer.
    General Taylor: Dick, I've covered for you a lot of times 'cause I thought you were a little crazy. But you're not crazy, you're mean. And this is just radio.
  • Running Gag: "When the engine is already running, you generally don't need to turn the key, you know."
  • Something Only They Would Say: "FLIP THEM THE BIRD!"
  • Soundtrack Dissonance: "What a Wonderful World", played over a montage of troops fighting in the field, officers at base looking reflective, and a village being carpet-bombed.
  • Throw It In: All the funny bits were ad-libbed by Williams.
  • Uriah Gambit: Dickerson issues Cronauer a pass through a road which (unbeknown to Cronauer) is held by the enemy and dotted with landmines. He aims to Make It Look Like an Accident.
  • Use Your Head: Cronauer headbutts a man in the Bar Brawl, then tries to do the same to his companion, only to find he's One Head Taller. Oh Crap.
  • Very Loosely Based on a True Story: The real Adrian Cronauer says the movie is inaccurate. In truth, pretty much everything except the basic details was fabricated. For example, instead of being the staunch liberal, antiwar, anti-military Robin Williams (despite being in a volunteer-only branch), he describes himself as a "lifelong card-carrying Republican" and was a vice-chairman of the 2004 Bush/Cheney campaign, was sent home when his tour ended, and states that much of what Williams did would have gotten him court-martialled in a heartbeat. He was also a Sergeant, not an Airman First Class.
    • Cronauer really did teach an English class but didn't lie his way in nor use it to chase a local.
  • What Could Have Been: The original story treatment, written by Adrian Cronauer himself, was an attempt to create a TV series which combined elements of WKRP in Cincinnati and M*A*S*H, two of the most popular shows at the time. This was virtually completely retooled as a vehicle for Robin Williams' improv.
  • You Need to Get Laid: "You are in more dire need of a blow job than any white man in history."
    General Taylor: God dammit that's funny.

G.I. Joe: The MovieFilms of the 1980sHamburger Hill
Gods and GeneralsMilitary and Warfare FilmsGray Lady Down

alternative title(s): Good Morning Vietnam
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from
Privacy Policy