Doing Blue

TOO FUNNY TO FAIL (B+) - This is an irreverent reminiscence of the ill-fated "Dana Carvey Show" that scandalized ABC in the mid-'90s and lasted only seven episodes before crashing and burning despite a wealth of writing talent. I have a soft spot for Carvey, who rarely fails to make me laugh. His talent pool here included head writers Rob Smigel and Louis C.K. and the recent Second City alums Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell.

The show held much promise, as Carvey still had the glow of his glory years at "Saturday Night Live" and the wildly popular "Wayne's World" movies. But, with Smigel and C.K. in an anti-establishment mood, the show's very first sketch involved Carvey as President Clinton breast-feeding babies and animals, appalling both the sponsors and the audience coming off of the family-friendly "Home Improvement" juggernaut.

The story of abject failure is both scorching and funny. The ABC executive who oversaw this train wreck provides his perspective. Bill Hader is on hand as a fan who recalls the show from his high school days. Forgotten sketches still pack a punch, including a pair of would-be pranksters who always end up punishing themselves instead of others and the deliriously deadpan "Grandma the Clown." This is a fun traipse through a golden age.

GILBERT (B-minus) - Comedian Gilbert Gottfried gets a rose-colored bio-doc that investigates the man behind the mania. This one might be for fans only, though the filmmaker, Neil Berkeley does peel off a layer or two from a performer who is always "on" in public. The glimpse behind the facade is interesting at times, but a viewer could also get the sense that the  man we see here -- now married with two kids -- might also be a bit of a character.

The jokes are funny, and we get a good sense of Gottfried's upbringing and his neuroses, as well as his apparent universal acceptance in the comedy world. Berkeley lays things on thick at the end -- Gottfried's sister was dying of cancer during the filming, and he spent time with her every day. He does hit the highlights and lowlights -- the post-9/11 "Aristocrats" bit and his distasteful jokes after the Japanese tsunami, cracks that got him fired by Aflac.

I once took a piss with Gilbert Gottfried. It was before his show at a small club in Chicago, probably more than 25 years ago. He kept his head down and avoided eye contact. He seemed like a social freak then, and he doesn't seem to have relaxed much in the intervening years. He's an acquired taste, but it was fun to spend an hour and a half with him.

BONUS TRACK
Gottfried doing a set on "Letterman," including, at the 4:37 mark, his impression of Jackie Gleason in "Casablanca":