- Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
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Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project Directed by John Landis Produced by Robert Engelman
John Landis
Mike Richardson
Larry RicklesStarring Don Rickles
Harry Dean Stanton
John Landis
Clint Eastwood
Robert De Niro
Chris RockCinematography Tom Clancey Editing by Mark L. Levine Distributed by Home Box Office
Fully Available on HuluRelease date(s) 2007 Running time 89 mins. Country U.S.A. Language English Budget USD $500,000 (estimated)[1] Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project is a documentary about stand-up comedian Don Rickles.
Contents
Structure
The film consists of performance clips from throughout Rickles' career interspersed with recent interviews with him. A show at the Stardust Casino in Las Vegas from 2006 is featured most prominently. The film also features some of Rickles' notable television and movie appearances, including his many appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. There are also interviews from several stand up performers and celebrities who have encountered Rickles over the years..
Interviewees
- Dave Attell
- Howard Blank
- Ernest Borgnine
- Mario Cantone
- Jack Carter
- Roger Corman
- Billy Crystal
- Robert De Niro
- Clint Eastwood
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Coach Leo Golembiewski
- Kathy Griffin
- Penn Jillette
- Jimmy Kimmel
- Larry King
- Peter Lassally
- John Lasseter
- Steve Lawrence
- Jay Leno
- Richard Lewis
- George Lopez
- Peggy March
- Ed McMahon
- Bob Newhart
- Tony O. Oppedisano
- Regis Philbin
- Sidney Poitier
- Carl Reiner
- Debbie Reynolds
- Chris Rock
- Jeffrey Ross (uncredited)
- Roseanne
- Bob Saget
- Martin Scorsese
- Sarah Silverman
- Bobby Slayton
- Keely Smith
- Dick Smothers
- Tom Smothers
- John Stamos
- Harry Dean Stanton
- George Wallace (comedian)
- Robin Williams
Reception
The film was generally well liked by critics who wrote about it. Much of the praise was directed at Rickles himself for being such an engaging personality. One critic compared Rickles and his sense of humor favorably to the racist comments of Michael Richards and the anti-Semitic statements of Mel Gibson writing:
"While Rickles seems to mock ethnicity, body type, weight, age and all the other stuff that we're not supposed to make fun of, he's actually defusing all of those things. And once they're deflated by humor, they lose, at least for a moment, their potency. What becomes clear in Landis' film is that Rickles is really a softie, a guy who loves humanity and life. The guy they still call Mr. Warmth really is, and that's apparently the worst-kept secret in show business. When Richards lost it at the comedy club, he was spewing pure hate. Rickles wouldn't know hate if it bit him in the butt."[2]
Critics also noted how Landis seemed at least as interested in showcasing Rickles's humor as he did in Rickles' life.[3][4]
References
- ^ "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project - Box office / business". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0949815/business. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
- ^ Wiegand, David. "Review: How Don Rickles heaps abuse and leaves you laughing." SFGate. 1 December 2007. 23 April 2008.
- ^ Scheib, Ronnie. "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project Review." Variety. 13 October 2007. 23 April 2008.
- ^ "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007) - External reviews.". The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). 23 April 2008.
External links
- watch online for free : Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
- http://www.hbo.com/events/don-rickles/
- Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project at the Internet Movie Database
Films directed by John Landis 1970s - Schlock (1973)
- The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
- National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
1980s - The Blues Brothers (1980)
- An American Werewolf in London (1981)
- Coming Soon (1982)
- The Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983, co-d)
- Trading Places (1983)
- Into the Night (1985)
- Spies Like Us (1985)
- Three Amigos (1986)
- Amazon Women on the Moon (1987, co-d)
- Coming to America (1988)
1990s - Oscar (1991)
- Innocent Blood (1992)
- Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
- The Stupids (1996)
- Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
- Susan's Plan (1998)
2010s - Burke and Hare (2010)
Documentary - Slasher (2004)
- Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)
Categories:- 2007 films
- Documentary films about entertainers
- American documentary films
- Documentary films about comedy
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