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:

The same audience is used every time the audience is shown.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Gleason is shown receiving a package of photos from his father who abandoned him as a child. In real life, Gleason never heard from his father again after he left the family.

Movie Connections:

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

Great performance but confusing

I agree that Garrett's performance was amazing, he captured the essence of Gleason perfectly. My biggest issues with the movie were two:

1. Jumping back in forth in time. I got lost after three different levels of flashbacks in the first 5 minutes. Why?

2. Completely ignored his movie career. The movie jumped from his TV work in the mid-1950's to a TV interview in the 90's (probably supposed to be his "60 Minutes" interview in 1991). Why? I hope CBS is not so crass that they mainly wanted to present him in ways having to do with his appearances on CBS! That would be amazing. His movie career occupied a much larger portion of his life than his TV career. Most of us are familiar with his later silly roles, but he did some great movie roles in the 1960s: "The Hustler" (original), "Soldier in the Rain", "Papa's Delicate Condition", etc. You can check IMDB for yourself. All worth seeing.

On the plus side, the cinematography was excellent, and looked very good in HDTV. If you didn't see it in HD, try to next time.

Also Michael Chieffo gives a pretty convincing portrayal (though perhaps a little restrained) of Art Carney, in the few scenes he appears.

Finally, Garrett goes from young and thin to really quite chubby, in both body and face. Either an excellent job of makeup and costuming, or he gained a heck of a lot of weight for the role, or a little of both? If it was done with appliances, it was the best job I've ever seen. Completely convincing, even viewed in HD.