Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
HBO presents one of the most gifted and revered performers of our time, Academy-Award winning Robin Williams, starring in his fifth exclusive HBO special, taped before a live audience at Washington's Constitution Hall.
Robin Williams at Constitution Hall delivers another characteristically frenetic and free-associative stand-up performance, covering politics, addiction, and his heart surgery with his trademark improvisational energy. The acting/performance score reflects Williams' undeniable comedic genius and stage presence. However, as a stand-up special, the cinematography is functional at best — standard multi-camera concert coverage. Novelty is modest; by 2009 this is his fifth HBO special and the format is well-worn, though his personal material about health and sobriety adds some rawness. The ending doesn't land with any particular structural payoff beyond the natural close of the set.