Day 20: The Life of Reilly

I continued my trend of comedian docs with a doc on Charles Nelson Reilly. It was actually pretty funny at parts, but it was super sad and kinda creepy in others, so I feel like it cancels it out.

Charles Nelson Reilly was one of those dudes I knew nothing about, but could instantly recognize. He existed in a era when celebs were walking caricatures, expected to crack wise and spout puns as often as they did on screen. He was known for his flamboyant nature: gaudy clothes, ridiculous over-reactions, and insanely large glasses.

 So this is an hour and half 1-man show that Reilly wrote to discuss his life, childhood and career. It's mostly him on stage, with some extra old clips and photos thrown in by the filmmakers.

What I learned: Basically everything. I knew nothing about this dude, so it was all new to me. Most of it was pretty sad: his aunt was one of the first women to ever get a lobotomy, and it went horribly wrong. When he was a teenager he witnessed a fire in a Barnum and Bailey Circus in 1944 that killed 168 people.
There were over 7,000 people in attendance
The flames got so hot they cremated people and left nothing behind
Back then bands would perform "Stars and Stripes Forever" in cases of emergency
One of the guys who was convicted of starting the fire later went on to serve in Congress for 24 years
(note to self- watch a doc about circuses soon- they sound pretty nuts).

What I liked: The dude is pretty funny. Even without his costumes or props Reilly is such an talented story teller he sucks you right in. The dude has had some shocking, terrible, unbelievable things happen to him; so much so it's amazing he can talk about them, even laugh about them. I appreciated how flawlessly he could switch from humor to the heart-felt.

What I didn't like: The film-making style took me a while to get used to. The rapid switching between multiple cameras, most of them close up, made it feel more like a Joe Rogan special than the life story of an 70 year old man. Also the added clips and video, though interesting, took away from the intended austerity of the one-person show. Reilly surely worked hard to recreate his entire world on stage using only his words, so taking us out of it with clips seemed to counteract that.

A couple of thoughts:
He, like so many actors, regales us with his first experience at a movie theater as a child, and the burning desire he felt to one day be a famous performer. Call me jaded, but why must we always hear about the burning passion actors seem to possess? Should it make us happier for them that they got what they wanted? Having that desire doesn't make you more talented.  What about all the millions of people who have that same passion but never get to experience it?
He never directly discusses his sexual orientation, but it's hinted at through several stories. In a society where celebs are rewarded for being open with their homosexuality, I can't imagine a time when you had to hide it, for fear of blacklisting or an even worse fate.
In a lot of ways he reminded me of Salieri, the character from the 1984 film Amadeus. Salieri spends the film reminiscing on his life, his unhappy childhood, his desire for fame and talent, and his need for self-acceptance. I saw a lot of parallels here.

I think it's a good film, and would probably be more satisfying for those who are familiar with him already. I saw it more as just an interesting older man who lived a pretty incredible life. The film can be watched on Netflix instant.

Here's the trailer:

Here's a link about the Fire, in case you want more info on that. 

The Hartford Circus Fire

And finally, here's how I know CNR; his work in All Dogs Go to Heaven: