Movies Reviews

Carol Channing: Larger Than Life – Movie Review

By Ron Wilkinson Jan 24, 2012, 14:51 GMT

A documentary on Broadway legend Carol Channing. ...more

Smarten up and pay attention. The Queen of Broadway enters.

Carol Channing is, indeed, larger than life. Now she is appearing on a screen near you and she is still larger than life, although not nearly as large as she was in person. To paraphrase Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard,” Carol is still big; it’s the movies that got small.

She marches through this film like a trooper, cooing with her fourth husband as if they met yesterday, when they have known each other since high school in California in the 1930’s. This is a cute film but if you were not lucky enough to see her in person, this bio-flick will not take you there.

Channing grew up in California and joined a successful high school debate team. Whether this was a result of a strong personality, or forged her strong personality, is a matter of debate. By the time she started performing professionally she knew how to take control of the stage no matter which way the chips fell.

Good, bad or indifferent audiences knew who was running the show when they watched her perform. This strength and unquenchable optimism flowed into the audience like an elixir. It still does.

The world-class interviews in the film are the best part. Marge Champion is a standout interviewee and the candid shots of Channing with Marge’s legendary husband, Gower Champion, are a thrill to behold. Channing is one of the last surviving veterans of the glory days of Broadway. In the two decades following WWII, the place was rough and ready.

The business could be cruel; it destroyed people. Perhaps it was because of the blood that was spilled that the shows came across with a brilliance that was beyond the mortal experience. Channing embodies that fantasy world completely, both the good and the bad.

Her third husband was Charles Lowe who produced a revival of Hello Dolly starring Channing. This was a bittersweet time for the performer because the show did not come off as anything but a shadow of the original. Sometime later Lowe and Channing broke up. Carol declares in the movie that he took everything she had; shades of the side of Broadway that people do not talk about in this, its Disney days.

Those who saw Carol in the original “Hello Dolly” production in 1964 will be thrilled with this film. For those of without that connection, it will not be nearly as thrilling. Carol came off much more powerfully in person. She is less suited for the camera. For the younger members of the audience (younger being middle-aged), “Hello Dolly” means the Barbara Streisand and the Oscar / Golden Globes sweeping 1969 movie version of the play.

The glimpses of Streisand will make many want to see the film, again, rather than dwell on the theatre production by Carol. Of course, the recording hardware and techniques of her day do not do justice to her, or anybody else, caught in the live performances of the time. The time spent on her intimate moments with her husband is an unfortunate waste of screen time. It comes across as an excuse for a way to fill up screen time.

The interviews in the film include an incredible list of peers, fans and co-performers past and present. Loni Anderson, Mary Jo Catlett, Tyne Daly and Tippi Hedren all show up to reminisce about the Broadway big time. There are numerous shots of her being guided through her steps by a flock of doting young, male dancers.

This conveys a completely different kind of humor but it is still part of Channing’s legacy. As she said, “If you're lucky enough to have two hit shows, the world passes through your dressing room.” At 89 years old, the world is still passing through. She is seeing to it.

Visit the movie database for more information.

Directed by: Dori Berinstein
Written by: Dori Berinstein and Adam Zucker
Starring: Loni Anderson, Mary Jo Catlett and Marge Champion
Release Date: February 10, 2012
MPAA: Not Rated
Running Time: 87 Minutes
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color