(Gilbert plays at the Northwest Film Forum on Thursday, November 9, at 9 p.m.)
For about as long as I can remember, I considered myself a fan of Gilbert Gottfried. He was someone I recognized through his appearances on talk shows and cameos on sitcoms, and I’ve always appreciated his manic energy and how it worked with his unique — and instantly recognizable — voice. Before I found out about this new documentary about Mr. Gottfried, I knew almost nothing about his personal life. It was often great fun watching him deftly swat away any questions that Jay Leno or Regis Philbin might have had about his life outside of comedy or TV appearances. I’ve always thought I knew exactly as much as about Mr. Gottfried as he was comfortable with letting me know.
Now comes a documentary from Neil Berkeley that provides enough biographical information and behind-the-scenes to sate my curiosity, but Gilbert is as much about Dara Gottfried as it is about her husband. When Gilbert shows interviews with Gilbert’s comedian friends, they can’t resist the urge to roast him, but when the question of what kind of woman actually marries the man who tells September 11 jokes days after the tragedy and who lost his job as the voice of an insurance company’s duck because of ill-advised tweets about a Japanese tsunami, the answer turns out to be someone perfectly lovely and supportive.
Gilbert is best when it lays out the relationship between Dara and Gilbert, which comes across as one where both people complement each other well. Dara points out that they’re like a puzzle that fits when they’re together. Gilbert’s friends note that before they met, he couldn’t be counted on to get to his shows in clean clothes. Former Howard Stern sidekick Artie Lange said he told Dara that he was worried about Gilbert being alone in San Antonio, left to his own devices to get to the club on time, and having to check himself into a hotel. For his part, we see a part of Gilbert Gottfried I don’t think most are accustomed to: the devoted husband and family man. Albeit he is still one who sends his wife Valentine’s Day cards that say “fuck you 500 times” on it.
And that’s what I found so heartwarming about this movie for it tells you that there probably is the right person for even the most unusual partner. I think that’s the main takeaway. The second most important lesson of Gilbert is that there’s no mess you can’t pull yourself out of with a timely telling of “The Aristocrats” joke. At least I think that’s the point.
