Monday, November 21, 2011

I Heart Gene Wilder

I recently listened to Gene Wilder's 2006 memoir Kiss Me Like a Stranger while driving around Los Angeles. This is not a traditional life story memoir, but a series of moments that Wilder has chosen that exemplify the lessons of his life that taught him about two specific subjects: acting and women. Wilder honestly depicts how these two things have criss-crossed that made him the actor and man that he is. I'm not a big memoir fan, so was kind of into the non-traditional set-up of this rather than if Wilder went through all the parts of his life in order of small to large. There is still a chronological bent to this, it's just done so in short little bursts.

As soon as I started listening to the book, which is read by Wilder in a gentle, warm tone, I quickly remembered just how much I loved him as a comic actor growing up. Like many people, I got my first taste of Wilder in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory [1971]. I am pretty sure I saw it before I turned ten and promptly went out and got the book. In my teens I discovered other classics starring Wilder in the 1970s. He had an amazing stretch in the 1970s: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex * but Were Afraid to Ask [1972], Blazing Saddles [1974], Young Frankenstein [1974], Silver Streak [1976], The Frisco Kid [1979] and Stir Crazy [1980]. Let's not forget Bonnie and Clyde in 1967 and The Producers in 1968 either. Not too shabby, huh?

When I was going over his IMDB resume, I was kind of shocked at how few movies he has actually done. I count only twenty-one films. While the quality of Wilder's work dipped as the 1980s wore on, it's hard to argue against his particular brand of comedic genius. By the time I saw Stir Crazy in a theatre in 1981, I was a bonafide fan, having seen him in most of the previously listed movies, even if some of the humor was way over my head or the sort of thing I needed to wait a few years to see to fully grasp. I thought Stir Crazy was the funniest movie I had ever seen for years after I saw it. Paired with Richard Pryor for a second time [Silver Streak was the first; he'd appear with Pryor in four films], the duo are mistakenly sent to prison and have to depend on their wits to survive the hostile situation. Gloriously low-brow and full of physical comedy, this was directed by Sidney Poitier [another surprise] and it has an unbelievably raucous, fast-paced and hilarious first hour before it becomes a completely different film in the prison escape sequence toward the end. Stir Crazy is still one of those films that I completely love even though I was only 11 when I first saw it. Here's an hilarious scene when the duo first get sentenced. Wilder's manic improv yelling is pure comic gold.


I consider myself a Wilder fan, but I knew very little about his upbringing or life. The most public element that I was aware of was his marriage to Gilda Radner when she died of cancer in 1989. I didn't know his original name was Jerome Silberman or that he was raised in Milwaukee. I had no clue that his early years as an actor he was dedicated to a more serious vein of theatre acting that involved membership into the Actor's Studio [when it was much, much more than a crappy TV interview show] and studying under Lee Strasberg. I had no clue how he met Mel Brooks and was cast in his big break in The Producers or that he wrote Young Frankenstein. I wish Wilder would have included even more movie stories from the production or from the set. It has stories, just not enough of them. Kiss Me Like a Stranger goes into the things I didn't know while also delving into his romantic life with a surprising level of intimacy and really gave me insight into the Wilder I knew and the Wilder I didn't know.

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7 comments:

hidden staircase said...

i haven't even read this yet...but yay!

hidden staircase said...

i don't think i've ever seen 'stir crazy'...so i looked and of course, the library does not have it. scarecrow!

hey, b-t-w...i'm "this" close to getting a multi-region. there's a new tsai on the shelf! i could rent one i guess...or pull out your old one and watch in b/w...but nah.

Joshua Blevins Peck said...

I think the multi-regions have come way down in price since I got mine years and years ago. I am now two behind on Tsai! I need to catch up...

hidden staircase said...

watched stir crazy over the weekend. i loved the whole 70s feel...eventhough it came out in 80! kinda slow and of course, so unrealistic...but funny and entertaining. gw's character was so upbeat...he and rp made a great combo.

Joshua Blevins Peck said...

Cool you saw it. That film is kind of a split personality w/ a lot of pure comedy in first part, then turns into a prison escape picture.

This was the second of four on-screen pairings of Wilder and Pryor. SILVER STREAK was the first and my second favorite. They weren't great friends, but had a real chemistry together I think.

hidden staircase said...

i watched silver streak with you! (second time...) i didn't know they weren't friends! wow...guess they were true professionals...at least for the sake of the finished product.

if you can think of other 70s comedies...i'd like to continue in that theme...

Joshua Blevins Peck said...

Well, they weren't chums let's just say. I think they respected each other. They just have that special thing called chemistry together.

So many '70s films in ALL genres worth watching! I'll come up w/ a list of comedies that I like and maybe do a post in the next few weeks for you!