Fans Continue to Mourn For Robin Williams

As the world mourns the death of Robin Williams, the body of work left behind by the talented and much loved comic-actor is being celebrated and shared. Fans are revisiting films like Mrs. Doubtfire and Dead Poets Society and Hook. One movie, though, has emerged as a surprising talking point: the 1998 drama What Dreams May Come.

The spiritually themed (and visually stunning) drama began trending on Twitter within hours of Monday’s news that the 63-year-old Williams had died of an apparent suicide in Marin County, California.

The movie was among a group of titles from Williams’s roughly 50-film career that quickly rose to the top of the charts on both Amazon and iTunes, nestled among bigger hits like Good Will Hunting, The Birdcageand Patch Adams. As of this morning, What Dreams May Come was the 45th most-downloaded movie on iTunes, and the 40th top-selling movie on Amazon — ahead of Hook and Aladdin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R9eHA6YiP8

By no measure could Dreams be considered among Williams’ biggest hits – the film made a modest $55 million at the box office, just a shade less than Jack and Bicentennial Man, both films regarded as box-office busts. And though the drama received two Oscar nominations in the technical categories (and won for Best Visual Effects), it was met withmostly middling reviews.

But 16 years after its release, What Dreams May Come has slowly, quietly acquired a loyal following; it boasts a strong 85 percent audience-approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And given the film’s themes of love and sacrifice, it’s easy to see why the actor’s fans would gravitate towardDreams in the wake of Williams’ passing. The movie, based on a 1978 novel by noted sci-fi author Richard Matheson, tells the story of Dr. Chris Nielsen (Williams), a loving father and husband who experiences the pain and horror of having his two children perish in a car accident. Chris and his artist wife Annie (Annabella Sciorra) are heartbroken and struggle to make their marriage survive.

Williams’ wide-ranging comedy routines often dealt with dark subjects, and he frequently discussed death. As he once famously said, “Death is nature’s way of saying, ‘Your table is ready.’” His profound characters have been as equally oft-quoted by fans. “Real loss is only possible when you love something more than you love yourself,” he said as Sean Maguire in his Oscar-winning turn in Good Will Hunting.

James Lipton, host of the popular interview series Inside the Actor’s Studio, called into MSNBC Monday to recall how Williams responded to his recurring question, “If heaven exists, how would you like God to greet you at the pearly gates?” during a 2001 episode. “There’s seating near the front,” Williams responded with a slight laugh. “The concert begins at 5. It’ll be Mozart, Elvis, and anyone of your choosing…. It would just be nice, if heaven existed, to know that there’s laughter. That would be a great thing. Just to hear God go, ‘Two Jews walk into a bar.’”

“Maybe he’s hearing God say that right now,” Lipton added.

via ABCnews.com