The Angriest Man in Brooklyn is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Phil Alden Robinson and starring Robin Williams, Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage and Melissa Leo. It is a remake of the 1997 Israeli film The 92 Minutes of Mr. Baum, written and directed by Assi Dayan. The film follows an angry, bitter man whose doctor tells him he has a brain aneurysm and has only 90 minutes to live. As the patient races around the city, trying to right his wrongs, the doctor attempts to find him and take him to a hospital. The film was released in a limited release and through video on demand on May 23, 2014 by Lionsgate. This was Williams' final film released during his lifetime.
Plot
Henry Altmann is stuck in Brooklyn traffic while on his way to a doctor's appointment. His car is suddenly struck by a taxi, which propels him into a rage which he unleashes upon the taxi driver. Henry goes to the Brooklyn hospital, where Dr. Sharon Gill is covering for his usual doctor, with whom she is having an affair. After examining scans of his brain, Sharon informs Henry that he has a brain aneurysm and his outlook is bad. Henry erupts, throwing insults at Sharon and demanding that she tell him how long he has to live. She tries to dodge the question, but Henry is persistent. Panicking, Sharon tells him that he will die in ninety minutes. Henry leaves the hospital in a rage. Sharon talks with another doctor and realizes the consequences of her actions; she will surely be fired and lose her license. Sharon resolves to find Henry and put him into immediate care. Henry arrives at the family law firm of Altmann, and storms into a meeting between his brother Aaron and several older clients. He asks what a hypothetical client with only ninety minutes to live should do, they reply that the client should make love to his wife one last time. Henry then decides to run home to see his estranged wife, Bette, only to find that she is having an affair with their neighbor. Meanwhile, Sharon learns Henry’s case is serious enough that he could potentially die at any minute. Sharon arrives at Henry’s office, where she tells Aaron of his brother’s diagnosis. Aaron tells her that Henry was once a kind, happy man, but became embittered after the death of his son, Peter, two years prior. Meanwhile, Henry makes more stops on his quest for redemption, including attempting to contact his surviving son, Tommy. Henry disapproved of his son's choice to become a professional dancer, creating a rift between them. He makes a recording in which he tells Tommy he loves him, but flies into a rage halfway through and passes out. When he regains consciousness, he goes to the Brooklyn Bridge, intent on jumping into the East River. Sharon finds him there and apologizes for her earlier behavior, admitting she has no idea when he might die. Sharon begs him not to jump, saying that her career and by extent her life will be over if he does. Henry still leaps off the bridge, however, and Sharon runs from the bridge down to river where she goes into the water after him and drags him to shore. Henry realizes what he has become and asks Sharon to help him make things right with his family. Checking Sharon’s watch, he sees that he has only nineteen minutes left. Sharon hails a cab, driven by the same cabbie who hit Henry that morning. The cabbie and Henry begin to argue, but Sharon comes between the two men with a bottle of pepper spray, momentarily blinding the driver so that the pair can take off in his cab. They drive to the Brooklyn Dancing Academy, where Henry finds Tommy sitting alone in one of the dance studios. The two begin to dance, just like when Tommy was a little boy. After sharing this moment with his son, Henry informs Sharon that he does not want to know when he will die; he only wants to know that he will try and lead a better life and that they can both find happiness. He then collapses on her shoulder, exhausted. It's then revealed that Henry goes to the hospital and lives for another eight days, giving him time to share special moments with his family. One year later after Henry dies, Bette, Tommy, Aaron and Sharon are together on a cruise ship, where they celebrate Henry's life and spread his ashes across the East River. The captain of the cruise ship tells them that spreading ashes on the East River is illegal, but they berate him in Henry's honor.
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 9% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 3.43/10. On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 21 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Peter Debruge of Variety called the film "A schmaltz opera that indulges Robin Williams' most melancholy tics and themes." William Bibbiani at Craveonline found positives in the film stating: "There’s a manic energy to this premise, the dogged efforts of a particularly screwed individual stymied at every turn, that evokes warm, funny memories of similar screwball stories."
Release
In November 2013, Lionsgate acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released in a limited release and through video on demand on May 23, 2014.
