Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Beloved actor's life is celebrated; some language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
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Remembering Gene Wilder
What's the Story?
REMEMBERING GENE WILDER reinforces the irrefutable -- that there was no one quite like Gene Wilder. As his friends and colleagues recall him, the actor was unique, funny, dear, sweet, talented, and hardworking, and he remains sorely missed. Writer-director Mel Brooks made several movies with Wilder, including The Producers, Young Frankenstein, and Blazing Saddles. He tells of meeting Wilder when he was a shy young New York stage actor working with Brooks' then-girlfriend Anne Bancroft. Brooks pegged Wilder to play an important, difficult-to-cast role as he completed the script for The Producers. The documentary also looks at Wilder's marriage to comic actress and SNL star Gilda Radner, who died of cancer at age 42 in 1989. There's a sweetness and sadness that runs through Wilder's story. Although he found love and marriage again with a devoted woman, he began losing his memory and health, and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He died at 83 in 2016.
Is It Any Good?
Remembering Gene Wilder is a straightforward, admiring, and loving remembrance of the unusual comic actor, writer, and director. In addition to Brooks' adoring stories, memories and observations are also offered by Harry Connick Jr., Alan Alda, Eric McCormack, Rain Pryor, and Carol Kane, some of them friends, some costars, some colleagues, and some with connections left unexplained. The use of Wilder's own voice as narrator, with excerpts from his memoir, Kiss Me Like a Stranger, at first feels jarring and a bit eerie. It's as if from the grave Wilder has returned to tell us about himself. But he has a soothing voice and the stories and sentiments make up for the oddity.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Mel Brooks' admiration and fondness for Wilder. What do you think Brooks saw in the young Wilder that inspired him to cast him as Leo Bloom in The Producers?
What does the movie have to say about loss?
People who are famous and have successful careers often seem to outsiders to have perfect lives. How do events in Wilder's life make it clear that fame doesn't protect anyone from the difficulties of real life?
Movie Details
- In theaters : March 15, 2024
- On DVD or streaming : June 21, 2024
- Director : Ron Frank
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Documentary
- Run time : 92 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : June 26, 2024
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