Gilda Live

Unlike Chevy, Dan, John, Bill, Eddie, Mike, Dana, Will, Adam, Chris (Rock and Farley), and others, the women of Saturday Night Live have not had the same opportunities to shine on the big screen. Gilda Radner was hardly the only SNL female cast member to be ill-served by Hollywood (remember Haunted Honeymoon?), but this 1980 concert film of her one-woman Broadway show at the Winter Garden Theatre (shot by director Mike Nichols) serves as a testament to the versatility of this charming, sweet, and funny performer. On stage, Radner embodies all of her beloved characters, including hyperactive adolescent Judy Miller, nerdy Lisa Loopner, elderly Emily Litella, brash newscaster Roseanne Roseannadanna, and punk rocker Candy Slice. Don Novello appears as Father Guido Sarducci to allow Radner to catch her breath and change costumes (although the cameras do follow her backstage). The extended sketches are recycled from SNL, but some of the original material, including the self-explanatory ditty, “Let's Talk Dirty to the Animals,” were definitely not ready for primetime. Perhaps the highlight of the evening is the poignant closing number, “Honey, Touch Me With My Clothes On,” a further reminder of such a sad loss of a major talent. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)