Lots to enjoy here for Gene Wilder fans. Recent interviews with the likes of Mel Brooks, Harry Connick Jr. (I must've missed the movie he did with Wilder...) and Alan Alda (ditto...) It was bittersweet watching the clips of Wilder's interviews he gave in the years leading up to his death. 2016 was a terrible year for celebrity deaths and Wilder's affected as many people as David Bowie's and Prince's deaths did.
The fault of the documentary comes from its focus on the movies. The Frisco Kid is given way too much screen time...while Silver Streak barely gets a mention and nothing from The Woman in Red is featured. These two movies were important in his resume as they co-starred Richard Pryor and Gilda Radner. Two people who were quite significant in Wilder's life. Bombs like Sunday Lovers, Funny About Love, and Another You were not mentioned but probably should have been as proof that not everything Wilder was in was gold.
Besides The Frisco Kid, the movies that get the most attention are The Producers, Willy Wonka, and Young Frankenstein. The latter is probably peak Wilder for his career as the story was his idea and he co-wrote the screenplay with Brooks.
Willy Wonka was a troubled production from Quaker Oats Cereal and did not perform well initially at the theater (its status as a beloved children's movie grew due to re-releases in the mid '70s, annual television airings in the mid to late '70s, and video in the '80s). Wilder gave the movie an edge that stayed with children after the viewing. Not much is made of this.
Basically, this is a celebration of his life, and for that reason it's worth seeing. It just could have been a bit more consistent in its rundown of his movies and dug deeper into his characterizations. But that would have probably made for a much longer documentary--which he deserved. There will never be another Gene Wilder.
