Love, Gilda (2018)

Love, Gilda (aka Love Gilda) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Perhaps the one member of Saturday Night Live that held humor and tragedy, it would be Gilda Ratner. As one of the first generation of the legendary live skit show, she had an undeniable charm that made her a glowing presence on the program. Yael Kohen, author of We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy, wrote in her book “Of the three female cast members [SNL], Gilda Radner made the deepest impact. There is hardly a female sketch comic today who does not claim Radner as an inspiration for her comedy career.” You can see this clearly in the episodes where she was present but if that was before your time, as it was mine, this film expands a little more on such bright woman for the long-running show.

Ratner always seemed like the woman who hung around the more guy-centric world of the likes of National Lampoon, associating with the likes of John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Richard Belzer, Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray, and Rhonda Coullet. It wouldn’t be until Saturday Night Live where she made her mark. Her most original character was Roseanne Roseannadanna, a loud and eccentric news commenter who plays up that obnoxious friend who always finds the best way to tell you something. One episode had me laughing with this character where she relays information on Bo Derrick having a long nose hair, making her want to run up and braid it. Her best parody was that of Barbara Walters, playing up her manner of speaking as Baba Wawa.

Gilda was bound for greatness in the 1970s. She was such a hit on SNL she was at one point offered to host a variety show, which she turned down. We come to understand why from those who knew her. She had an issue with fans, sometimes being angry when they approached her and bitter when they didn’t. But it was hard not to notice her considering she also had a Broadway show, Gilda Radner – Live from New York, which was also filmed for theaters.

Gilda was looking to head into a larger career at the end of the 1970s when she left SNL. But what followed was nothing short of a tragedy. There was divorce (and a new marriage to Gene Wilder). There was an eating disorder. There were bombing movie projects. But, most heartbreaking, there was cancer which would inevitably be her undoing.

If all of this I’m explaining sounds clinical, it’s only because I don’t want to spoil all the emotional and wonderful stories of those who knew him best in this documentary. They tell all and show all, letting the rest of the world know about how great such a young woman was on SNL that was stolen from us at such a young age. My first exposure to her was a Best Of tape of her best bits, from Roseannadanna to Baba. I wish everyone from this generation could see that same tape but if it seems too dated to watch such a tape, Love Gilda is a good start.