Halloween 2014: Robin Williams or Phillip Seymour Hoffman?

With the news of the death of Hollywood legend Robin Williams, the first question on many people’s mind was, “Do they still make adult-size Genie costumes?” But not so fast – what happened to that Brandt from The Big Lebowski costume you’d been planning on wearing? We’ll help you make the tough decisions that these serious moments call for.

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The Big Lebowski is a perennial favorite, a true modern classic, but Hoffman’s character basically is just a guy in a suit. We’d recommend this costume if you look like Phillip Seymour Hoffman, otherwise probably not advisable.

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However, you don’t have to look anything like Robin Williams for anyone to know WTF you’re supposed to be with this outfit. Well, it helps if the people at your Halloween party either grew up with Nick at Nite in the early nineties, or are over 45 years old.

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As long as we’re doing ’70s throwbacks, who could forget Phillip Seymour Hoffman playing legendary rock critic Lester Bangs in “Almost Famous”? Probably most people. Unless you’re willing to yell in people’s faces about how under-appreciated the Stooges were in their prime (and we know that some of you are), this costume might be just as under-appreciated. ‘Almost’ a good idea.

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But wow, if you can find this jacket that Williams is wearing in “Death to Smoochy”, how could you not wear it? Like, every day?

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Hoffman plays a Catholic priest in “Doubt”, but if you have a Catholic priest outfit lying around…

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Why not go as Williams in “License to Wed”? No “doubt” about it!

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Sadly, unless you’re Tom Cruise in “Mission: Impossible III”, most Phillip Seymour Hoffman costumes involve little more than wearing a tuxedo and looking like Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

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Now here’s where it gets tricky. Mrs. Doubtfire, one of Williams’ most beloved roles, is a pretty serious makeup job…

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Whereas Hoffman in ‘Flawless’ is basically just a headband, lipstick, and some sexy lighting.

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Basically, at the end of the day, Scotty from “Boogie Nights” is a pretty solid choice, as is the awesome gay stereotype from “The Birdcage”. Let’s just hope there are enough Genie costumes to go around – one would imagine that Party City is having some high-level meetings about this right now.

RIP guys!