It’s hard not to like Gene Wilder. The actor imbued every one of his performances with a remarkable charm that only the most talented can pull off repeatedly. He was funny but could also be ferocious. He was naive but could also be quick witted. From the moment he starred as Leo Bloom in Mel Brooks’ The Producers, he set himself on a path to be one of the most beloved actors in cinema history.
Born Jerome Silberman, Wilder changed his name because he wanted to be just that: wilder. And when you look at his body of work, there is no doubt that the man pushed himself to all of the craziest possible limits. His catalog of work is extremely impressive, and Ron Frank’s latest documentary Remembering Gene Wilder does an impressive job of covering Wilder’s expansive acting career. However, Frank also takes care to fill the film with interviews from some of Wilder’s closest friends and family—Brooks, himself, and Wilder’s wife, Karen Boyer, both provide beautiful insights into their time with the man—that help to capture just how loved Wilder was and still is.
For the most part, Remembering Gene Wilder unfolds chronologically through Wilder’s career. Viewers follow him from Bonnie and Clyde all the way to his Emmy winning role on Will & Grace, where he guest starred as Mr. Stein, a quirky lawyer with short-term memory loss—a retrospectively ironic fact, considering Wilder’s death at 83 was due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease. His career is chock full of memorable performances like Willy Wonka (who could ever forget?) and Dr. Frederick Frankenstein. He also breathed life into lesser-known roles like the charming Fox in the musical adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved book The Little Prince. The film also touches on Wilder’s alchemic relationship with the comedian Richard Pryor with whom he starred in a handful of films including Silver Streak and See No Evil, Hear No Evil.
But perhaps the most magnetic touch to Frank’s film is the fact that the entirety of the documentary’s narration is provided by Wilder himself. No, this was not done by the all-powerful magic of A.I. but rather taken from Wilder’s own recordings for his audiobook Kiss Me Like a Stranger. This personal touch adds a great deal of insight into Wilder’s thought process throughout his life, and it truly helps to give the film a certain warmth and earnestness that the actor so often portrayed on screen and off.
If you are coming to the film as a long time, die-hard fan of Wilder and his work, you might not walk away having learned anything new. The movie, while thorough, can at times feel like it’s operating more as a checklist for Wilder and his achievements. But for casual fans, the material is bound to delight and engross. Even now, nearly 10 years after his death, Wilder still enchants audiences with his unique and earnest portrayals. He is a man and an actor worthy of remembering, and one that is also near-impossible to ever forget.
Photo courtesy of Kino Lorber
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