Gleason (2002) (TV)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Howard Deutch

Writers (WGA):

Rick Podell (written by) &
Michael Preminger (written by)

Release Date:

13 October 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Family

Tagline:

How Sweet It Was!

Plot:

The story begins at the height of Gleason's career. He has it all: women, wealth, and extraordinary power...

Plot Keywords:

Television | Comedian | Irish American | New York City New York | Womanizer

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Brad Garrett	...	Jackie Gleason
Saul Rubinek	...	George 'Bullets' Durgom
Gretchen Egolf	...	Genevieve Halford
Kristen Dalton	...	Audrey Meadows
Michael Chieffo	...	Art Carney
Jack Daniel Wells	...	Jack L. Warner
Mark Camacho	...	Sammy Birch
Jason Blicker	...	Sol Friedman
Vlasta Vrana	...	Toots Shor
Shawn Lawrence	...	William S. Paley
Kevin Dunn	...	Jack Philbin - Gleason's manager
Terry Farrell	...	Marilyn Taylor
Johanna Nutter	...	Joyce Randolph
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Adams	...	Director Frank Satenstein
Shawn Baichoo	...	Leonard
Claudia Besso	...	CBS Costumer
Howard Bilerman	...	Writer
Marc Boiteax	...	Ventriloquist
Terence Bowman	...	Limo Driver
Jake Brockman	...	Young Jackie
Tony Calabretta	...	Miami Barman
Joe Cobden	...	Coleman Jacoby
Carrie Colak
Nadia David	...	Buxom Blond
Diana Diaz	...	June Taylor Dancer
Kristella Diotte	...	June Taylor Dancer
Richard Dumont	...	Stars Announcer
Kim Feeney	...	Date at Toot's
Jane Gilchrist	...	Matronly Mother
Jayne Heitmeyer	...	Call Girl
Robert Higden	...	Arnie
Paula Jean Hixson	...	Mae Gleason
Arthur Holden	...	Maitre D'
Matt Holland	...	Movie AD
Michelle Johnston	...	June Taylor
Barry Julien	...	Principal
Richard Jutras	...	Movie Director
Kathryn Kriitmaa	...	June Taylor Dancer
Jack Langedijk	...	Herb Gleason
Vanessa Larocque	...	June Taylor Dancer
Vincent Leclerc	...	Police Officer
Pierre Lenoir	...	CBS Announcer
Pauline Little	...	Motel Manager
Nancy Loof	...	June Taylor Dancer
Joel McNichol	...	Stage Manager
Lisa Bronwyn Moore	...	Pert Kelton
Mabel Palomino	...	June Taylor Dancer
Tim Post	...	Police Officer
Maud Saint-Germain	...	June Taylor Dancer
David Schaap	...	Reporter
Amy Sloan	...	Geraldine Halford
Lawrence Anthony Smythe	...	Vaudeville Performer
Dino Valiotis	...	Assistant Director
Al Vandecruys	...	Halsey Emcee
France Viens	...	Dancer
Kevin Woodhouse	...	Assistant director
Brian Wrench	...	CBS Executive

Also Known As:

Gleason: The Jackie Gleason Story

Runtime:

USA:100 min | USA:120 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Netherlands:6

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Barbara Lieberman Productions

Trivia:

Brad Garrettat a smidge over 6'8", is about nine inches taller than Jackie Gleason was. To compensate, other actors who shared scenes with Garrett wore platform shoes that would make everyone seem proportionate.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Gleason is shown being fired from Navy Blues (1941) in 1949 or 1950. In real life, the film premiered in 1941 and he was not fired. Also, "Cavalcade of Stars" (1949) was not his TV debut. He starred in the short-lived series _"Life of Riley, The" (1949/II)_ .

Movie Connections:

References "The Honeymooners: TV or Not TV (#1.1)" (1955)

Above-average TV flick. Great performance from Garrett

Brad Garrett (now an Emmy-winner for "Everybody Loves Raymond") really pulled this off superbly. Judging from the wealth of mannerisms, tics, vocal inflections, attitudes, and body language, it would seem that he made a careful study of Jackie Gleason in the various stages of his life. The hard work paid off in a vivid characterization that really brought the man to life without any cartoon-like exaggerations. The rest of the cast were uniformly good, but if Garrett hadn't managed as well as he did, it would hardly have mattered.

The writing, direction, and cinematography were above average for a TV movie, in my opinion, and I didn't really find the three-level flashbacks all that confusing. As an earlier commentator said, this was a long, turbulent, and wide-ranging life, and the three levels of flashback were an effective way of touching on several different stages of Gleason's life without expanding it to miniseries length.

I too was interested to see if any of Gleason's movie work would be portrayed, as I have fond memories of "Soldier in the Rain," "The Hustler," "Requiem for a Heavyweight," and that strange film where he tried to do a Chaplinesque turn as a mute simpleton, "Gigot." I'm guessing that in the interest of keeping it under two hours, and in consideration of the fact that most people see Gleason as a TV star first and foremost, that part of the story was jettisoned. It would have been interesting, though.

Before having seen it, I'd read some statements cautioning avid "Honeymooners" fans that they might be annoyed with the recreations in this film. I can see what they were talking about, in that several scenes from the show about Ralph getting a TV set were smooshed together into a single scene. While it managed to get the most memorable lines from the show together in a single compact scene, it could be a bit off-putting to those who know the shows so well that they've memorized the scripts (that's me, I'm afraid). The overall excellence of the production, and Garrett's outstanding performance, made this a forgivable sin for me.

Gleason's personality is not shown in a particularly good light in this piece. He is portrayed as being insecure, egocentric, petty, tyrannical, abrasive, possessive, and yet aloof from even his closest friends and colleagues. From everything I've read about the man, that's pretty much true. I still love Gleason and the expansive, lovable, down-to-earth everyman character he created for himself, even if I know it's not really true, but it tends to confirm my suspicion that it's always best to worship your heroes from afar.