Toys (1992)

“There’s a madman at the factory, and it’s no longer me.” – Leslie Zevo

Number of Times Seen – 1 (22 Dec 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Following the death of a Toy manufacturer, his heirs fight over control of the company.

My Take on it – I have always been a fan of Robin Williams and his films especially when he is given free range to utilize his comedic abilities.

I had hopes that this film would also fall into that category.

Unfortunately, it is quite far from that.

This is a really silly and boring film that fails to work on so many levels.

The story here doesn’t allow Williams to shine and he feels constrained with his humor here.

The plot and story are pretty bland and doesn’t end up being funny enough especially given the fact that most of the jokes fall completely flat.

The fact that the overall plot is somewhat prophetic about the way that they would militarize video games is intriguing to see especially given the fact that so many toys these days are militarized and are based on honing fighting and combat skills.

The rest of the cast besides Williams are all fine, but none of them are able to stand out due to the way that the story unfolds.

Barry Levinson is a very talented writer and director, but he really missed the point on this film which is such a shame because he has all the right components but just wasn’t able to put them all together in an enjoyable way.

Bottom Line – Terrible Robin Williams film that just doesn’t allow his personality to shine. The story itself is quite bland and instead of being funny, most of the jokes fall completely flat. The idea that Toy manufacturer could use military games is somewhat prophetic especially given how lots of games over the years have been based on honing fighting skills. The supporting cast is fine, but none of them really shine because the story doesn’t allow things to be more interesting to watch which is quite a shame since Levinson is a very talented director and writer.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Released about a month after the release of “Aladdin (1992),” in which Robin Williams voiced the Genie. Because of this, Williams asked Disney to keep his name out of the marketing for “Aladdin” (1992) and for the Genie to not take up more than twenty-five percent of the movie’s ad space. Disney ended up going back on the deal on both counts, resulting in a falling out between Williams and the studio. (From IMDB)

Rating – Razzie Worthy (3/10)