Saturday, June 25, 2016

Get Bruce (1999)

Director: Andrew J. Kuehn

Composer: Michael Feinstein

Starring: Bruce Vilanch, Whoopi Goldberg, Bette Midler, Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Lily Tomlin, Raquel Welch, Michael Feinstein, Shirley MacLaine, Florence Henderson, Steven Seagal, Michael Douglas, Paul Reiser, Roseanne Barr, Carol Burnett, Billy Crystal, Marc Shaiman, Tim Curry, Traci Lords

More info: IMDb

Tagline: These stars know Hollywood's best-kept secret!

Plot: Affectionate tribute to Bruce Vilanch, who writes material for celebrities who make public appearances, from Oscar hosts and award recipients to Presidents. We meet his mom and see photos of his childhood; in Chicago, he writes for the Tribune and then heads West. Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, and Bette Midler talk with him and to the camera about working with Bruce, and we also watch Bruce help others prepare for Liz Taylor's 60th, Bill Clinton's 50th, and an AIDS awards banquet where the hirsute, rotund Vilanch lets his emotions show.



My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

Hilarious.  If you've never heard of Bruce Vilanch, you've probably seen him.  He's hilarious and but he's also incredibly skilled at writing jokes for everyone and that's not easy.  You have to consider the person's personality, profession, abilities and then there's the event they need the funny for.  Of course this breathing documentary is all about him but we gear a great deal from his friends, the top performers in the entertainment world, and you know all of them.  He's loved by everyone.  One of the MANY highlights is Robin Williams spontaneously riffing about Jack Benny and Rochester being the stars of THE X-FILES.  He slayed me.  Bette Midler...I can't get enough of her.   You're going to get a little bit of Vilanch's history but the stories from his professional years, and thankfully it's most of the film, are fucking great.  I'd love to hang around with this guy.  I usually have at least one great laugh every single day.  I think he'd shatter the bell curve.  As of 4/19 it's on Netflix. 

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