Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Popeye'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Growing up, I remember how much certain comic book characters and cartoon characters absolutely captivated me to the point where I would have given anything to BE them. It's why I owned several Superman capes, and a corn cob pipe because before the Man of Steel became a role model for me...Popeye was one cool customer that I absolutely looked up to.

I mean come on, he was super strong, always saved the day and if it wasn't for him, who knows if I would have even tried spinach in the first place and I loved the character so much, that when I discovered there was a live action movie featuring Popeye and his adventures, you know that VHS was in the player as often as possible. I have fond memories of seeing Robin Williams playing the titular character and recently, Popeye has showed up cable once again after all these years, giving me a chance to revisit this film. 

Which means the big question that comes with going back and watching a film that has a beautiful sheen in my memory banks from childhood is...is it any good the second time around? The answer is...kinda? There's a lot that I forgot about when it came to this movie. For one...it's a musical. It completely slipped my mind that out of the blue, Robin Williams, or for that matter Shelley Duvall will suddenly bust into song at any given moment and it's jarring to say the least. Not to mention, the plot is a tad more incomprehensible than I recall it being. The gist of it, if I'm getting this right, is that Popeye has come to the bayside city of Sweetheaven to find his father and gains in a family in the process and sings a lot. 

But, outside of that, there's actually a lot of good to be found in this film as well. It's flat out a lot of fun. Robin Williams and his mountains of talent are completely on display here as he seamlessly slips into the character of Popeye. He has the squint down, he's unintelligible at times which is completely in line with the character and of course once he gets some Spinach in him, the sky is the limit. It's a spot-on interpretation of the character and it doesn't end there. Everyone cast is a character from the series come to life. Shelley Duvall is the embodiment of Olive Oil and Paul Smith makes an amazing Bluto. Heck, they even managed to make him appear to be a hulking beast of a man with subtle tears in his clothes where his muscles have burst through.

However, when all is said and done, this isn't exactly that perfect family film that is timeless through and through. It's really about nostalgia and enjoying a fond memory one more time, provided you've seen it before. Otherwise, if you're a hardcore Robin Williams fan, it's a film I recommend in order to see him in action one more time. Outside of that, well you better love Popeye as much as I do or have a curiosity about what the live action movie was like because the film is simply adequate. But either way, it was neat to enjoy my childhood one more time, and while the musical numbers may be a little disorienting, not going to lie, a couple of them are actually pretty catchy...

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