Movie Diary 6/24/2024

Remembering Gene Wilder (Ron Frank, 2023). I enjoyed seeing vintage Wilder clips and hearing some decent anecdotes, especially when Mel Brooks was telling them. Otherwise, this is a once-over-lightly account of someone who was probably a lot more interesting than the film lets on. The extracts from the performances are a lesson in acting, though. Watch the comic timing from Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, or the way Wilder plays the scene in Young Frankenstein where Igor must confess that he stole the brain of someone named “Abby Normal,” and appreciate the absolute in-there-ness of Wilder’s urgent but ever-so-patient questioning. A wonderful presence.