Rose Marie, a child star famous before Shirley Temple was born and who outlived her as well, had a surprisingly compelling life and this well-crafted documentary presents it beautifully. What with grabbing the spotlight at 2 years, nine months in a style that knocked audiences on their behinds and being granted her initial moniker of "Baby Rose Marie" by none other than the notorious Evelyn Nesbit to doing voiceover work in her late-eighties and so much in-between she was like a living Rolodex of show business experiences and relationships.
Her early life and the key people in it are represented frequently by re-enactors and while I have never been fond of this practice (somehow it tends to give things an "Unsolved Mysteries" or "Rescue 911" vibe...!), they are generally well-handled here and even clever at times with the actors' lips moving to the voices of Rose Marie as she relays the tales in question. Fortunately, as she grows up (and the accessibility of actual footage becomes more available) the reenactments taper off. We see her grow from a dazzling child singer to a charming young vocalist who works steadily in Las Vegas and elsewhere. The presence of gangsters in Las Vegas and in her life is not ignored. She is also called to Broadway, though her shot at the movies is marred by the salacious greed and pettiness of a producer.
She meets THE love of her life, the husky but beautiful trumpet player Bobby Guy and her father will have none of it, causing complications that are only partly addressed in this film. Love wins out, though, and they share a glorious couple of decades together until fate steps in. It's telling of her deep adoration for her husband that even after more than fifty years had gone by she could not speak of his passing without becoming touchingly emotional.
She put on a brave face for audiences of her sitcoms and games shows and kept on plugging along. Then, she and several other ladies who were considered "washed up" by the pups then in vogue got together and proved them all wrong with a staggeringly successful group act, "4 Girls 4."
Seeing that Miss Rose Marie could barely stand to be idle, even when work on TV and the stage sometimes yielded a barrage of headaches from unreliable producers or irritating costars, clues you in to what kept her alive until she was 94, even with her body failing her. She just NEEDED to perform and to win over an audience. This documentary contains beautiful visuals, a compelling format, priceless home movies (including color footage of the cast of "The Dick Van Dyke Show") and entertaining clips, but the real jewel of it is the up close and personal interview footage. It could have been an hour longer and still held attention, she was so heartfelt, charming, poignant and hilarious. Rest in Peace, dear lady.
Her early life and the key people in it are represented frequently by re-enactors and while I have never been fond of this practice (somehow it tends to give things an "Unsolved Mysteries" or "Rescue 911" vibe...!), they are generally well-handled here and even clever at times with the actors' lips moving to the voices of Rose Marie as she relays the tales in question. Fortunately, as she grows up (and the accessibility of actual footage becomes more available) the reenactments taper off. We see her grow from a dazzling child singer to a charming young vocalist who works steadily in Las Vegas and elsewhere. The presence of gangsters in Las Vegas and in her life is not ignored. She is also called to Broadway, though her shot at the movies is marred by the salacious greed and pettiness of a producer.
She meets THE love of her life, the husky but beautiful trumpet player Bobby Guy and her father will have none of it, causing complications that are only partly addressed in this film. Love wins out, though, and they share a glorious couple of decades together until fate steps in. It's telling of her deep adoration for her husband that even after more than fifty years had gone by she could not speak of his passing without becoming touchingly emotional.
She put on a brave face for audiences of her sitcoms and games shows and kept on plugging along. Then, she and several other ladies who were considered "washed up" by the pups then in vogue got together and proved them all wrong with a staggeringly successful group act, "4 Girls 4."
Seeing that Miss Rose Marie could barely stand to be idle, even when work on TV and the stage sometimes yielded a barrage of headaches from unreliable producers or irritating costars, clues you in to what kept her alive until she was 94, even with her body failing her. She just NEEDED to perform and to win over an audience. This documentary contains beautiful visuals, a compelling format, priceless home movies (including color footage of the cast of "The Dick Van Dyke Show") and entertaining clips, but the real jewel of it is the up close and personal interview footage. It could have been an hour longer and still held attention, she was so heartfelt, charming, poignant and hilarious. Rest in Peace, dear lady.