The Funniest Moment From Every Robin Williams Comedy of the 1990s

The Funniest Moment From Every Robin Williams Comedy of the 1990s

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Funniest Moment From Every Robin Williams Comedy of the 1990s.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the most hilarious moments from this late genius’s 1990s films, including both live action and animated films.

Have a favorite comedic moment from Robin’s ‘90s films? Let us know in the comments.

#15: Explosives From the Garden State

“Cadillac Man” (1990)
From the first time that we meet car salesman Joey O'Brien, it’s not a big leap to see all the troubles he’s in. From affairs to his job and beyond, Joey is in deep in all the wrong ways. Although this film wasn’t a huge box office success, Robin Williams livens up every movie he is in, and his fun portrayal of Joey in “Cadillac Man” definitely does give us a few good laughs. One of our favourites is when Joey is being held hostage at gunpoint, there’s some confusion about what type of hi-tech explosives the hostage-taker has. Robin is forced to tell the police where the assailant got his explosives from. And as “The Sopranos” taught us, New Jersey is funny!

#14: Insults at Dinner

“Hook” (1991)
There have been more than 15 different adaptations of the famous “Peter Pan” story for film and television. But with Steven Spielberg behind it, this movie version made a big, well, splash! Williams played the leading role and gave it his usual enthusiastic verve. Given his ability to bring in improv quips and a huge range of comedic influences, we love his distinctive version of this character. A real highlight is a battle of words between Peter and Rufio. It’s a child versus an adult, back and forth, filled with several jabs only adults would get.

#13: Terrible French

“Shakes the Clown” (1991)
This lesser-known entry in Williams’ filmography has quite a few entertaining moments. Under the pseudonym ‘Marty Fromage’, Robin has a small role as Mime Jerry. The entire scene takes place in, yes, a mime class, as Jerry uses Shakes, played by Bobcat Goldthwait, to illustrate the art of mimicry. There’s plenty of comedy to be found in this scene, but we took fondly to the opener. Speaking in terrible French, Jerry tries to introduce himself to Shakes, only to completely confuse him. It may go over your head if you’re not well-versed in the language of Molière, but it’s certainly a funny take on français.

#12: A Memorable Movement

“The Fisher King” (1991)
This is one of those movies that tends to get overlooked when people revisit Robin Williams’ career. Matched with Jeff Bridges, Williams plays Parry, a former professor who is now homeless and believes himself to be on an Arthurian mission to find the Holy Grail. There are so many moments in this movie that allow Williams to show off his talents both as a comedic and a dramatic actor. On the funnier side, we can’t stop chuckling at Parry’s depiction of a “mystical” bathroom experience, involving a lot of groaning and toilet humour. Only Williams could make us laugh so heartily about all of it.

#11: “Friend Like Me”

“Aladdin” (1992)
Did you know that Robin recorded over 16 hours of improv voice work for the movie “Aladdin”? It was a role that was literally written for him. Others have played the character and done it justice, but there’s ultimately no comparison to how fluid Robin’s portrayal was. It’s quite hard for us to pick a single moment from this movie as a highlight as there are so many great ones. We really dig his long batch of impressions but ultimately we’ve settled on “Friend Like Me”. It’s a great little musical number that combines Williams’ great delivery with a classic Disney theme.

#10: Room Zoom

“Toys” (1992)
In this Barry Levinson fantasy comedy, Williams plays Leslie Zevo, a toymaker whose father thinks is too immature to take over the family company. Unlike most of his other roles, this one features a Robin Williams who is far more subdued than usual. But, of course, subdued and more mellow doesn’t mean it's not funny. One notable highlight is the snarky factory discussion in a small, stark room about the composition of fake vomit, which culminates in the walls moving in like some demented crossword version of the Star Wars garbage compactor scene. While not uproarious, it’s a more literal type of “gut-busting” humour.

#9: Flash Forward

“Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993)
Here’s a more classic boisterous Robin. As Daniel Hillard, he’s a man who loves his children dearly, but is at risk of losing them in a divorce. In a desperate attempt to maintain a connection, he gets hired by his ex-wife as Mrs. Doubtfire, a housekeeper. Granted, pretty much everything Williams does as this character is pure, comedic genius, but our favorite moment has to be when Daniel, as Doubtfire, is trying to cook, and accidentally catches the front of his shirt on fire. Between the antics of putting the fire out, and his comment about hot flashes, we can’t stop laughing.

#8: Get Out of There!

“Jumanji” (1995)
As any serious gamer will tell you, there are moments when it feels like the real world is mimicking the gaming one. “Jumanji” just happens to be a bit more literal about it. Robin plays Alan Parrish, a man who becomes trapped inside the world of Jumanji for more than 20 years. Williams’ signature frenetic style of delivery is on full display when he’s ejected from the game. This spawns all kinds of chaos in the home he grew up in, as well as the surrounding town. As we’re just getting to know him, he starts yelling randomly and grunting like a gorilla. Go Robin!

#7: She Needs a What?

“Nine Months” (1995)
A movie like “Nine Months” shows us again that Robin Williams doesn’t need to be the lead in a movie to be its star. A story about a man’s reluctance to become a father, Hugh Grant portrays the leading man, with Julianne Moore at his side. But every time Williams enters a scene as their doctor, he grabs our attention more than the expecting couple. Fainting at the sight of a massive needle is hilarious, as is all the physical comedy in the exam room. Our favorite moment is the doctor’s complete butchering of the English language which confuses everyone.

#6: A Manly Rip

“Jack” (1996)
Much like an entry we’ll see a little later, “Jack” is a movie that takes something that is overly serious, and tries to put a comedic spin on it. The main character, Jack, played by Williams, has a rare condition that causes him to age four times faster than normal people. At 10, he looks like he’s about 40 years old. This, of course, is played heavily for laughs, as Robin Williams himself got a good chunk of his star power from exuding child-like wonder and energy. In a great “kid” moment, we see Jack deliver a series of gaseous gags — literally— with his friends. We are tooting the horn of this kind of humour, it doesn’t fall flatulent to us!

#5: Forget the Shrimp

“The Birdcage” (1996)
The world of the 1990s was not quite as accepting of the LGBTQ+ community as we are, thankfully, now. Yet we did get to see the release of “The Birdcage” which saw Williams play an openly gay character. The banter and chemistry between him and Nathan Lane is part of what made this movie so popular, and earned it many award nominations. One of the best moments comes when Williams’ character Armand panics over a meal. The conversation between him and the chef spirals out of control and eventually erupts in a quip about the shrimp. And it only gets better from there!

#4: In the Shower

“Fathers’ Day” (1997)
In 1986, Robin Williams co-hosted the first edition of the Comic Relief fundraiser. It’s here he began a long comedic relationship with Billy Crystal. It wasn’t until 11 years later that the two finally got a chance to star in a movie together. “Father’s Day” did not do well at the box office, but there were numerous funny scenes, including one where Robin’s character is trying to help his son in the bathroom. Speaking of this dynamic comedy duo, we do also have to give kudos to the improv scene Robin & Billy did on the set of “Friends”. It perks us right up!

#3: Flubber on the Inside

“Flubber” (1997)
As we move through this list, it’s interesting to note how many films Robin was a part of that did not see massive commercial successes. But they’re always good for some laughs nonetheless. “Flubber” is a remake of a ‘60s Disney classic, and features plenty of wild special effects. One very notable hilarious scene, with Robin a bystander for a change, sees the “flubber” itself enter Wilson Croft, an adversary of Williams’ character Philip Brainard. The resulting inhalation causes some very funny movements, and quite the ejection from Croft himself. It might be a little low-brow, but hey, as already noted, we love it!

#2: Clowning Around

“Patch Adams” (1998)
In the same vein as the previously mentioned “Jack”, “Patch Adams” is a movie that tells a very touching story about something very real. Based on a real doctor’s story, it showcases a completely different approach to caring for sick people, not simply providing simple treatment for them. Williams provides countless moments throughout the movie that makes us laugh, cry, and feel for both his journey, and those of his patients. From jokes about which direction heaven can be found, to our favorite red-nosed clown scene, he shows us that laughter can often be as powerful as any medicine.

#1: Cramming Jokes

“Bicentennial Man” (1999)
When it comes to films centered around artificial intelligence, “Bicentennial Man '' is not necessarily one that comes up in discussion very often. But it’s a fascinating film, where, over a span of hundreds of years, the robot “Andrew,” played by Williams, goes through many transformations that ultimately see him recognized as human. A commentary on what it is to be human, this movie does indeed provide the opportunity for Robin to crack a joke or two… or maybe juuussst a few more. Williams is in peak form as he fires through a whole series of jokes in rapid succession: it’s many funny moments packed into one!