The Life of Reilly

Well, it is the end of May 2007 and Mr. Charles Nelson Reilly has recently died. I just learned of it today and, while I know it's silly, I've been sitting here at work getting teary-eyed. Sure, as a kid I knew him only from The Match Game, but when I saw "Life of Reilly (Save It for the Stage)" last fall I understood at last what a fascinating person and enormous heart lay behind the outrageous public persona. And, finally, it seems that even the game-show Charles Nelson Reilly was not really ever a mere persona, that he was never anyone but who he was, histrionic and unapologetic and, if you took the trouble to look, enormously dignified. The movie shows both the man and the artist, a veteran stage actor whose craft at storytelling never ebbed, even as his final years slowed him down physically.

As it happens, I ran across the "Jose Chung" episode of the X-Files, with Mr. Reilly in the title role, last week, just before he passed. That long, serialized interview scene with Gillian Anderson's Dana Scully is just a delight; I think you can see the fun Ms. Anderson is having playing off him. And it surely contains some of the series' best comic writing.

*Sigh.* Mr. Reilly, I shall miss you greatly.

I just had the opportunity to catch this at the 2007 Madison Film Festival and thought it was such a wonderful film; equally entertaining, touching, and funny. The content of this film, which is Mr. Reilly's stage show that recaps his life and work, is absolutely fantastic. Equally important was the editing and capturing of his performance, where I felt the impact and intimacy of a live show.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful life, Mr. Reilly! And for all the lifetime of laughs, even if you want to forget about the TV material. Thanks to the film makers that brought this performance to a wider audience.

I can't recommend this enough and look forward to its release on DVD, so I can share it with my friends.

While watching his performance, I realized that performers of his caliber just don't grace the screen anymore. A thought that is quite depressing.

This is a unique movie as it is the last performance Charles Nelson Reilly ever did of his one man show. To watch him tell his stories is to see a master weave his craft into words that keep you consistently engrossed by what he has to tell.

CNR's life is fascinating. There is much more to him than most people will ever know. For years you just knew him as the guy on match game, and that funny guy on the Lucy episode, or wasn't he on ghost and Mrs Muir? Something about him in all of those things stuck out enough for people to remember him. The man is an amazing performer, and his words are rich in with the history of Broadway, Hollywood and his personal life.

This film needs to be released on DVD or somehow the gameshow network needs to make a deal with the film maker and show it on the gameshow network, or release it with one of the DVD sets! People need to see it!

I just saw a screening of this film at the Seattle International Film Festival. Everyone was in great spirits with some pre-show Charles Nelson Reilly t-shirts being given away. Knowing that CNR was more than just a television perma-guest, I was looking forward to hearing him tell stories as only he can. He didn't disappoint. It takes a gifted storyteller to wring humor and pathos out of a painful childhood, and a sharp observer to make the life story so fresh and consistently surprising. As long as the cameras held steady on CNR and just let the man express himself, the film was excellent.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the film-makers wanted to constantly remind the viewer that this was a FILM documentary. I wanted to hear more stories, especially about his life in the theater, but the film-makers edited three-plus hours of stage material down to barely ninety minutes. This lead to some jarring transitions and title screens explaining what surely must have been great stories. Black-and-white film clips interspersed with CNR's monologue detracted from the stories rather than enhance them. But my biggest complaint, however, was the totally distracting soundtrack. Electric guitars and synthesizers played constantly, often making it difficult to hear CNR's words. The director attended the screening and explained that they were still editing the film, and he seemed to acknowledge that it was difficult to hear at times. I recommend more Charles, mellower editing, and far less soundtrack.

The good news is that the director announced the production team's desire to include as a DVD bonus feature an uncut film of CNR's stage show from 2003, which runs about three hours and has plenty of stories and anecdotes. Maybe my problems with the film are really to disguise my disappointment at never being able to see CNR's show live on stage. I hope that uncut film will provide the fix.

This film consists of the actor, Charles Nelson Reilly, doing a stand-up act where he talks about his life, his family and his experiences. I had assumed based on the Reilly I'd seen on TV that it would be funny. And, while there are definitely funny parts, there are as many, if not more, painful parts. Apparently, he grew up in a strange and emotionally abusive home--and although he doesn't say it, you wonder if he chose acting as a way of dissociating from this. At first, he talks slow and shows his age. But, through the course of this talk to a college audience, he becomes more animated and at ease. And, at times, he seemed amazingly young and spry--bouncing about the stage with a lot more vigor than you'd expect from a man in his mid-70s. Throughout all this, he's amazingly engaging and you can't help but sit spellbound. In many ways, it reminds me of a similar film with John Waters called "This Filthy World"--and both are nice opportunities to see these men and gaze into who they really are--or at least who they want you to see. Well worth seeing even if you aren't a fan of Reilly. After seeing it, you may well be.

Also, for kicks, go to YouTube and type in "Weird Al CNR" and watch the video. It's all about the massively manly exploits of Charles Nelson Reilly and it's hilarious.