Movie Review: The Angriest Man In Brooklyn (2014) seen on DVD

Drama; Some scenes may be unsuitable for young children, language throughout and mature themes, suggestive dialogue implying suicide and minor drug use

The movie follows a grumpy man named Henry, (played by Robin Williams,) who attempts to make amends with those he has wronged over the years after a doctor, (played by Mila Kunis,) informs him that he has 90 minutes to live during a visit to a hospital.

The film opens with Henry sitting in traffic as he is late for an appointment in a hospital where a voice over from him reveals everything he hates about life. Though his list is very long, at the top of it is sitting in traffic which is made apparent after an altercation with a taxi driver where he threatens to kill the driver. He arrives at his appointment. As he is sitting in the waiting room, he gets a call from his boss asking him how late he will be to work which he continuously replies that he doesn’t know, citing the fact that his doctor is hours late seeing him. When his doctor eventually does see him, it is revealed that it’s been hours since his scheduled appointment, which he protests. After the doctor reveals that Henry is suffering from a life threatening illness, he questions exactly how long while getting more and frustrated each time she says she doesn’t know. Eventually, he threatens her physically into giving him an answer. As the ordeal leaves her feeling threatened, she gives him the answer that he has 90 mins to live. This causes him to go crazy as he leaves the hospital while still in the hospital smock despite warnings from the doctor not to do so. She attempts to track him down at various locations fearing for his safety amidst the news.

One of the biggest problems I have is my ability to buy movies on DVD which are unavailable on streaming services, (as they are seen as appealing to me,) but then fail to watch them for upwards of a year in some cases as they are just left on my shelf to collect dust. After a while, I tend to forget about them after long periods of time and they are seen still in the plastic packaging after upwards of a year, thus making the DVD purchase unnecessary and constituting a waste of money on my end. Unfortunately, this was the case for this movie as I remember that I purchased it on January. 22, 2023. and only watched it once a few months ago. This means the disc sat there for over a year before I watched it. When I finally did, I couldn’t follow it to be able to properly write a blog. I was only able to go with what I knew about the movie hence the short length of the blog.

I was a fan of Robin Williams growing up and as I know what happened to him the year this movie was made, I can honestly say that there will never be another comedian as good as he was. I can say that his character is very relatable to me as he has similar problems in the movie as I had in real life, (always being mad and complaining about everything, ETC.) The premise of this movie reminded me of the way I used to act which was my main reason for wanting to see this movie. He basically plays a more comedic version of myself in real life as the smallest things can see him off, including having to wait for certain things, and dealing with people who are late. These are two aspects of life that I have had to deal with at one time or another….and that I still have to deal with from time to time.

The main message I think this movie tries to send is that life is too short to be angry. If you were told that this was your last day to live, would you want to die knowing those around you are mad at you or bitter towards you or would you want to leave them on a high note?

The inspiration for me writing this blog, despite having only seen it once came when I overreacted to the severity of my appointment for an EEG scan of my brain and believed I was dying as I had never had a procedure like that done before. Well, my whole life, no matter how many people praised me and saw me as a good person, for one reason or another I have made as many people mad at me for issues that were either for nothing or my fault. As I have a fear of hospitals, each time I am faced with going to one, the same situations result with me thinking the worst will happen as a result of what needs to be done and will try everything to get it cancelled especially if mom cannot be present. Well things were much different for me this time around. As a matter of fact, my appointment was relaxing to say the least, (and I went out feeling better than when I walked in. This is a story for another blog I will write.) I mean, when you think about it, isn’t it a doctor’s job to make their patients feel better?

Anyway, back to the movie, it ends with Henry having lived eight days longer as a voice over from the doctor reveals.

That’s all I can think about for now in regards to this movie. Maybe I should start watching ones that I have to be able to write better reviews.

Movie rating 10 out of 10 as I will always be a fan of Robin Williams