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Summary: This is the film that put Robin Williams on the map as a "se
Review: ...and it would be worth checking out for that reason alone -- except that it's also a _really good_ movie, too. Aside from one brief nude scene (he and Maria Conchita Alonso are lounging in the bath to cool off), it's also about as wholesome as you're going to get in a film for adults. Maltin pretty much hits the nail on the head: It's a bittersweet story about finding out that the land of your dreams is great, but still not all it's cracked up to be. It could be hard for viewers born after about 1970 to really grasp the finality of the Williams character's decisionm, as he finds himself with no real prospect of ever seeing his home and old friends again. IMHO, this film is severely under-rated. Most people have never heard of it; yet as far as I'm concerned, it's one of Williams' best roles. This is one of those movies that's about the characters, and they're developed beautifully. Mazursky and his casting people wisely selected veteran character performers to complement Williams and Venezualan soap-opera pro Alonzo. No one, not even Williams, steals their scenes, and that's as it should be in a movie like this.
Rating: 
Summary: Robin Williams at his best!
Review: A great accomplishment in film making, depicting the life of a Russian immigrant within the United States. Excellent acting, humorous, touching and above all very accurate. It is nice to see a film that depicts the Russians without all those idiotic stero-types that we often see in films.
Rating:
Summary: Robin Williams at his best!
Review: A great accomplishment in film making, depicting the life of a Russian immigrant within the United States. Excellent acting, humorous, touching and above all very accurate. It is nice to see a film that depicts the Russians without all those idiotic stero-types that we often see in films.
Rating:
Summary: A snapshot of New York
Review: After visiting New York for the first time, I had to order this DVD. The film captures the experience I had in NY: Everyone was from someplace else! The hot dog vendors, the cab drivers, hotel staff, store personnel, waiters, carriage drivers, street performers. I loved the scene in the cafe: so-called American waitress, the lawyer from Puerto Rico (or Cuba?), the Asian and the Russians. This may seem like flag waving and some critics might nitpick, but the film truly captures the flavor of NY. Now, whenever I want to go back there again, I watch this film. All the cast was great, plenty of humor, a feel-good movie that celebrates America. Watch for the scene where Robin Williams is being followed.
Rating:
Summary: A snapshot of New York
Review: After visiting New York for the first time, I had to order this DVD. The film captures the experience I had in NY: Everyone was from someplace else! The hot dog vendors, the cab drivers, hotel staff, store personnel, waiters, carriage drivers, street performers. I loved the scene in the cafe: so-called American waitress, the lawyer from Puerto Rico (or Cuba?), the Asian and the Russians. This may seem like flag waving and some critics might nitpick, but the film truly captures the flavor of NY. Now, whenever I want to go back there again, I watch this film. All the cast was great, plenty of humor, a feel-good movie that celebrates America. Watch for the scene where Robin Williams is being followed.
Rating:
Summary: A nice addition to your film library
Review: I like Robin Williams as a comedian and even more in dramatic roles (Dead Poets Society, etc). I think he did a very good job in this movie. His love interest, Maria Conchita Alonso did very well also. This is her first American film role and if you have a bit of a crush on her like I do, you will want to see her nude scene. She was Miss Teen World in her mid-teens and later Miss Venezuela. She is in her mid-twenties in this movie and looking very nice and fresh.
Overall, the movie is light-hearted, but compelling. There are silly moments such as when Williams is scurrying around on the floor on his hands and knees while he tries to avoid KGB agents. There are also moments that reminded me of how precious are our rights and freedoms. Sometimes it takes seeing it thru the eyes of others to appreciate what we have. All of the patriotic scenes gave me a lumpy throat and they didn't seem contrived at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Half of the movie was real good.
Review: I thought this movie started off well, running at a 4 star type presentation, but it slowed down for me and ended as a 2 star, for an average of 3.
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Summary: One of the best roles for Robin Willims so far...
Review: MonH is funny, touching, and more or less credible, as far as the life in the Soviet Union goes. Robin Williams, who never ceases to amaze, speaks Russian and plays sax in this film. He mamages to re-create general "Soviet Man" image without many common stereotypes. Most of the film's story is actually true, based on the life of an immigrant jazz-musician, who is still alive and well. In 70s, this man managed to leave Soviet Union and settled in New York. The title sums up the story nicely, too.
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Summary: Robin Williams displays "Brilliance" early in his career.
Review: On the suface this may appear to be a simplistic story of a typical Soviet defector during the height of the cold war. The screenplay, super acting and rich cinematography deliver a warm, humble human "enemy" to your doorstep for your review. Robin William's character develops into a very complicated protagonist as he struggles for freedom in NY City. He's not afraid to work to survive. He learns quickly that the streets are not paved with gold but both with desparate memories of his family back in communist Soviet Union but also with optomism providing you have heart and determination.
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Summary: The human yearning for freedom vs. actually living it.
Review: Robin Williams does his credible Russian accent in this whimsical, comedic story of two musicians living under Communism, yearning to be free. Finally their opportunity arrives on a concert tour of the U.S. Williams goes through with his plan to defect, whereas his friend cannot bring himself to do it. Thereafter, Williams negotiates the ups and downs of life in America, where you are as "free" as your bank account, insider connections, and ethnic privileges allow. He falls in love, gets robbed, and otherwise encounters the ironies and inconsistencies of living "free." There is pain as well as joy, loss as well as gain, all accepted, even embraced as part of the whole. Meanwhile back in Russia, his friend pines still for freedom, but with the advantage of never having risked anything. A wonderful, relatively ignored performance by one of our best actors; and, likewise, a wonderfully nuanced depiction of life with all its complexities and paradoxes.
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