Gilda Radner: It's Always Something

What an excellent TV movie. For once, it's not self-pitying and depressing (though, of course, the subject matter is very sad), but it celebrates Gilda and how she chose to deal with her terminal illness with laughter. Jami Gertz did a phenomenal job in the title role, and I never realized before that she does bear quite a likeness to Gilda. Her love and marriage with Gene Wilder is also handled well, and I can't help but wonder what the real Gene Wilder thinks of the film. The movie had me in tears. I recommend it.

Jami Gertz may not be the most noticed actress in Hollywood, but her portrayal of the talented legend, Gilda Radner, will get her noticed for sure. I already knew the whole story of Gilda since she captivated me (despite the fact that I was too young to remember her in her heyday) Who didn't Gilda captivate? The legend alone deserves a talent to play her, and that is exactly what it got. In this honest and touching story of Ms. Radner's life, Jami Gertz looks, sounds and acts not only like Gilda, but like the characters that Gilda portrayed on Saturday Night Live's classic early years. As well as Jami Gertz, the rest of the cast portray the other actors in such a way that you don't have to guess who it's supposed to be, it's obvious. There is no "Is that supposed to be Bill Murray?" instead there's, "Oh, look it's Bill Murray!" Gene Wilder is also portrayed perfectly, I found it almost eerie seeing this movie, because it was as if we were really watching them. However, like most Hollywood movies about peoples' lives there are some parts that are "stylized" for effect such as flashbacks, dreams etc... to add to the drama. The difference is in this case it is done well and even enhances the story telling rather than make it look silly. Besides the phenomenal acting, the other excellent aspect of this movie is that it captures the feeling of Gilda herself- despite tragedy, it is uplifting, funny and triumphant, the three things I always thought about her before this movie was ever made.

I thought that I would have a hard time accepting anyone as Gilda Radner but Gilda Radner, but it wasn't that hard to swallow. I thought Jami Gertz did a pretty good job and kind of slipped into her so much that it wasn't so hard to buy. She even looked like her which helped. The actors who played Gene Wilder, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Laraine Newman also did a good job. Sometimes it was comforting just to know that their voices sounded like who they were supposed to be. All in all, I thought that this film was pretty entertaining and would probably watch it again.

I'm not quite sure why they decided to take the story of a very funny and joyful comic actress and suck all the joy out of her life and story. According to this adaptation of her autobiography, Gilda was a self-destructive person with low self-esteem who never had a happy moment. In fact, she had a lot of them, which she created herself. Her romance with Gene Wilder is presented as the only bright spot in her personal life, and even that is permeated with sadness. It's as if the producers decided that since she died of cancer, her whole life had to be a premonition of it. This makes for a screenplay that has basically one level. If they had allowed the story of her life to have happy moments along with the sad ones, the ending would have been a lot more poignant. You have to have light to contrast with the dark, but here it is all the same level, strangely gloomy.

We learn nothing of the other main characters, other than that Murray can be a jerk (is this a surprise?). In one overdone scene in particular, Gilda is persistently asking him about spending Christmas together (just before they are to go on to do a...yes, you guessed it...Christmas sketch, with Murray playing Jacob and Gilda playing Mary). Murray says something along the lines of "Will you please just BACK OFF???", then turns to one of the shows producers and huffs "I swear, this is the last time..."(the last time, what? Like he has a choice in whom to appear with on the show?). Then they go on like the pros that they are, to entertain their audience, despite their personal pain. This is called juxtaposition, you see, contrasting what's going on in front of the camera with what is behind, so you get a heightened sense of irony; did you get it? The scene is just as ham-fisted as I described it. The rest of the movie is as cliched and superficial as this moment, and the lead's very good performance is wasted. We keep waiting to learn a little more about the other cast members (the actor playing Garrett Morris is almost used as a prop) and we never do. I'm not quite sure why they had to produce such a dreadful script. A lot of effort went into the casting; it's almost as if they thought that was enough. Unfortunately, it's not, and the movie is painful to sit through. Gilda (and the actress who played her) deserved better.

Three stars.

This movie is amazing, it tells the life of great comedienne, Gilda Radner. It is so believable, that at the touching parts I cried. Jami Gertz looked and acted so much like Gilda, for a moment you'd think she was Gilda. The guy that played Gene Wilder, played a convincing part, but the chemistry isn't there, or at least the way I pictured it. It was like a love story, that somehow went wrong at the end. She is such a great person, I wish I've met her because I know we would have been best friends. Great movie! I recommend that you watch it!