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'Larger Than Life' Doc Glorifies Carol Channing

Film Rundown:

Genre:

Documentary

Parental Rating:

PG-13

Director:

Dori Berinstein

Starring:

Carol Channing, Loni Anderson and Mary Jo Catlett

Runtime:

Our rating:

C-

by The Ology Team .

On Jan 23, 2012

Prior to watching Dori Bernstein's documentary, my knowledge of Carol Channing was limited to this remarkably bizarre excerpt from a 1985 TV movie of Alice in Wonderland wherein she extols the virtues of not eating jam, and Ryan Stiles' lauded but oddly insufficient impression of her. Now, I know tons: Carol is a Broadway legend, the originator of iconic roles such as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly and Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I know all about her tireless work ethic and her fawning fans and her overwhelming energy even at the age of 90. I know everything about Carol Channing except for who the hell Carol Channing actually is.

Bernstein basically portrays her subject as the second coming of Christ without bothering to delve into the messy business of four husbands over sixty years. Channing's son, her only child, gets maybe thirty seconds of screen time. His relationship with his mother is a total mystery. Now, I understand that Bernstein's priority was capturing Channing's significance as an artist, but how one relates to their loved ones is a rather large piece of the personality puzzle. Larger Than Life almost gives the impression that family simply wasn't a factor in Channing's life, that she lived for the stage and the stage alone. There's no way to gauge who she is once the lights go down.

Nevertheless, Bernstein's cinematic love letter is overflowing with rare film clips and photographs that beg to be enjoyed again and again. There's never been a performer quite like Carol, and to witness the well-documented evolution of her stage persona is a giddy treat. Just don't expect to learn anything about the real woman beneath the hat.

SumOlogy: My personal favorite Carol clip -- an adorably botched 1954 duet with Perry Como.

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