Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project

More of a tribute to a comedic legend than a true documentary, this John Landis directed love letter to the great Mr. Rickles is pretty good none the less. Consisting of various actors and directors of note giving their (naturally) praise for the beloved comedian, interspersed with clips from his Vegas shows, late show appearances, old films, Friars' Roasts, and home movies with longtime friend, Bob Newhart.

While the film does have a very small amount of missteps editing and a few instances where it veers off-topic to ill effect, for the most part it's quite highly enjoyable and hilarious to boot. Any true fan (myself included)of Don will no doubt treasure it and watch it multiple times.

So what ya waiting' for? Go check it out on HBO while it's still on, Hockey Puck.

Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Extremely entertaining documentary from director John Landis opens up with him talking about the first time he met Don Rickles and then we get to see the man himself from a Las Vegas show in 2006 where it's obvious that he hasn't lost a step over the decades. We then countless footage of Rickles from his movies, TV shows, appearances on Johnny Carson and other shows and just about every other form of media out there. You know you're popular when a documentary on you can bring in the number of famous faces that we see here talking about Rickles. Just a few of them include DeNiro, Eastwood, Scorsese, Rock, Borgnine, Crystal, Williams, Corman, Goldberg, Larry King, Leno, Caan, Richard Lewis, Newhart, Philbin, Carl Reiner, Poitier, Sarah Silverman, McMahon, Harry Dean Stanton, Debbie Reynolds and many, many more. If you're a fan of Rickles or if you're someone who has never heard of him, this documentary is going to appeal to both sides because Landis really does do a great job at not only telling you the life story of the man but we get so many great stories that you can't help but walk away from this feeling as if you know him. The film does a very good job at mixing all of the interview segments in with the archival footage and then we get the added bonus of Rickles himself talking about various stages in his career. This includes how he was discovered, working Las Vegas and various other personal things like his marriage, which has lasted over forty years. I think the best thing the film has going for it are the various clips that really make you realize what a talent Rickles was and you realize that he really wasn't afraid to go after anyone. We get some terrific clips from The Tonight Show, The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast and various other specials that the comedian did. Plus there's a terrific bit from a 2006 concert where Rickles is just on a full attack against everyone.

Don Rickles, for 55 years, has found ways to turn even the most awful and bigoted subject into hilarity. Revered by comics of the younger generation, Rickles has managed to somehow stay the biggest secret in the comic business (at least for those of us under the age of 40!). There are comics by the dozens who imitate Rickles' style, from the yelling and personal attacks to his "disdain for sensitivity." He will make fun of your ethnicity, your weight, your hair, your clothes, your money, your wife...it will be incredibly offensive, and it will be hilarious. To say I was thrilled to discover that Mr. Warmth was being made is an enormous understatement.

Mr. Warmth: the Don Rickles Project, is a story about a man who has become famous by insulting those around him, which, as comedian after comedian mentions in the film, is perhaps the hardest thing to do. His genius lies in the availability of material; every night, his audience changes, and so every night, so does the act. Don Rickles is an insult-improv- comedian. It is simply marvelous to watch.

John Landis does not attempt to stuff Rickles' humor down our throats. It is bad enough that I spent the last two paragraphs telling you how funny this man is; the film would be pointless without some tape to augment the tale. From a Las Vegas appearance in 2006 (at the age of 80) Rickles begins his show by going out into the audience and picking out some favorites.

"Christ look at the front row, I'm working a state home for Christ-sake! Go home and die!" "Who let the Chinaman in here? 40 million Jews, I got a chink sitting in the goddamn front!" "Are you a queer?" "Chinese? Philippino? Japanese! 3 years in the jungle looking for your father!"

Out of context, the man sounds like a bigoted ass. Yet people laugh. Why? Why do they laugh? Why has this man been so successful for so long? This question, more than anything else, seems to be the point of Mr. Warmth.

While it seems improper for me to answer this myself (the documentary does such a superb job of it), I did find several flaws in its creation. Mr. Warmth, for all of the sparkle of its main character, got far too sidetracked in certain spots, and relied far too heavily on the interviews of other comedians. 5-6 minutes without Don threw me off track, and while the information was interesting, it was not quite relevant. Furthermore, I honestly wished John Landis could've found someone, a celebrity, who found Rickles' humor to be insulting and racist (Pat Boone, if he were still alive). It would've provided some much needed contrast to a documentary that comes off as one sided. These are the only flaws preventing me from giving this film a 10.

I would highly recommend Mr. Warmth, whether or not you are already a fan of Don Rickles. In a world full of PC comics whose idea of being "racy" is to use the f-word, Rickles is the only man carrying on the legacy of Lenny Bruce, George Carlin and Redd Foxx. He knows know boundaries, and his lack of respect for our stuck-up attitudes makes us laugh every time. May you live forever Don, because there will be no one like you again.

"Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project" is an engaging documentary: a portrait of a consummate entertainer who always remained true to who he was. It's directed by filmmaker John Landis ("Animal House", "The Blues Brothers", "An American Werewolf in London"), who was an 18-year-old production assistant on "Kelly's Heroes", the WWII actioner that co-starred Rickles. Here, Landis creates what is essentially a feature-length love letter to the master of the comedic insult.

Essential points about Rickles are conveyed: this was a comic who operated without a filter. He also didn't work from a script, and was often at his best when riffing; picking out audience members and finding something with which he could tease them. As singer Steve Lawrence points out, he could tell just about any sort of ethnic joke, and get away with it, because the bottom line is that he got people to laugh.

Mostly, the project is assembled from many testimonials from contemporaries and admirers of Mr. Rickles, and we get to see some of his famous TV moments. 'Tonight Show' legend Johnny Carson confronting Rickles over Carsons' broken cigarette box - while Rickles is trying to shoot his own program in the building - is particularly hysterical.

Only after the halfway point does this briefly turn into a more traditional "I was born in..." sort of life story, and the project loses some momentum in the final third by taking too much time to discuss the evolution of Las Vegas. Some of the editing is a little abrupt; one would like to see an interviewee finish their thought before Landis moves on to the next one.

But it remains pleasant to watch, with brief bits about popular Rickles roles (like the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the "Toy Story" franchise), and a generous dose of laughs. We also learn that one sure way to Mr. Rickles' heart was to ask after his family, whom he loved dearly. (An interesting anecdote is that he was first intrigued by future wife Barbara when she proved to be resistant to his shtick. And he took that as a challenge!)

Even for a decade after this film came out, Rickles was still performing with his trademark energy and biting wit.

Seven out of 10.

Obviously it is very hard to be a stand-up comic. It requires good material, immense courage, and perfect timing. The ability to improvise may be very important. John Landis says Don Rickles, who is now 81 but still performing with amazing vigor, is not a comic but a performance artist. In fact, he does not tell jokes. He also does not use prepared material. He is a Jewish comic, though. He identifies himself as Jewish. He uses his schtick--he insults people--and he works with what comes up. National origin, weight, looks, a bad hairpiece, anything is fair game. Why do people love it?

This is what veteran filmmaker ('Animal House', 'The Blues Brothers'; Michael Jackson's 'Thriller') John Landis aims to tell us.He isn't looking for flaws, secret sorrows, bad relationships. He has told the press Rickles hasn't any of those. Landis has been a friend and admirer of Rickles for decades; he was an eighteen-year-old gofer on the set of 'Kelly's Heroes' in the Seventies when he first met the man. (Rickles has been in a lot of movies and TV shows and the film documents that.) This is an affectionate portrait. And it works. It's impossible to walk away from it without liking Rickles and wearing a smile.

Some of the speakers: Debbie Reynolds, Chris Rock, Martin Scosese, Joan Rivers, Clint Eastwood, Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Sidney Poitier, Ernest Borgnine (he and Rickles played 'The Odd Couple' on Broadway), Roseanne, Bob Newhart, Carl Reiner, and many others--all admirers.

There are segments of a 2006 Las Vegas performance, and it is this, of course, that best shows what Rickles does and how good he is at it, but this is not a concert film. It's the story of the working life and an affectionate portrait of a man who, it seems, has practiced his trade of being "the king of insults" for 48 years and yet made no enemies?

How has he done that? The simplest answer is, Because he's good. He pulls out the worst clichés: a man says he's German and he goose-steps on stage. He makes you laugh in spite of yourself. In the end you may realize it's really good-natured stuff. It clears the air. Joan Rivers, Landis has said (Aaron Hills retells the story in the Village Voice) once recounted how a Florida judge came backstage where they were both performing and invited Rickles to play golf with him and Rickles replied, "Listen: One, I'm leaving town. Two, you're a putz. You're loud, obnoxious, incredibly boring, and I wouldn't play golf with you because I don't live here and you couldn't fix a ticket. No." But, Landis says, Hills left out the most important part: the judge loved it. He laughed uproariously.

Such an exchange makes one--it made the judge--into a figment of the imagination, the wild imagination--of a very funny man. It is an honor to be insulted by such a comic genius. Rickles has the good material, the immense courage, and the perfect timing. And they have never left him.

He also has been married for thirty years, has two sons, and is loved. He is, Landis said, in a long monologue at the NYFF press Q&A, a great "schmearer" (Yiddish term for tipping): everywhere he goes he passes out bills so when he comes back, he's more than welcome. But this isn't a payoff; it's niceness.

The film also shows some clips of Dean Martin roasts. Rickles obviously is the king of the roast--a gathering, among friends, where someone is honored by being affectionately insulted by everyone. The insults show they're friends. In a sense, by insulting his audiences at shows in big rooms at Vegas or Miami or Indian casinos, he's showing them they're friends; he's establishing trust. Otherwise, obviously, it would just be ugly.

One of the side benefits of the film is its portrait of Las Vegas. Extraordinarly, all the entertainers who performed when the town was run by the mafia are nostalgic for those days--when, they say, everyone was treated very well.

Again, the NYFF is not a venue for great documentaries. This is a very good-looking, neatly edited film. It will be shown on HBO. It is not a milestone in the art of documentary. John Landis was very entertaining at the press Q&A. He loves this subject.

A New York Film Festival 2007 official selection.