Title: The Wool Cap
Stars: William H. Macy, Don
Rickles, Ned Beatty, Catherine O’Hara, and Keke Palmer
Writers: William H. Macy and
Steven Schachter
Based on the original story
“Gigot” written by: Jackie Gleason
Director: Steven Schachter
Executive Producers: David A.
Rosemont, Frances Croke Page, and Elaine Frontaine Bryant
Running Time: 120 minutes with
commercials
Media: TNT Original Television
Motion Picture (NTSC DVD Screener)
World Premiere Sunday, November
21, 2004, at 8pm (ET/PT)
Network: Turner Network
Television (Check your local cable/satellite listings for channel)
TV Rating: TV-PG-L
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Once again the
teaming of Turner Network Television and Johnson & Johnson has yielded a
heartwarming original motion picture for television from the filmmakers who
brought viewers the acclaimed TNT and Johnson & Johnson Spotlight
Presentation “Door To Door.” Co-Written, Co-Produced, and Starring William
H. Macy, “The Wool Cap” is a poignant tale based on an original short story
entitled “Gigot” penned by legendary performer Jackie Gleason, who also
played the lead role in the 1962 movie adaptation, which was set in Paris.
This 2004 version takes place during the dead of winter at an inner city
tenement where the mute Superintendent Gigot (William H. Macy) befriends Lou (Keke
Palmer), a feisty young black girl who has been all but abandoned by her
biological mother. Gigot is a veteran with a tortured soul. He lives in the
basement of the building he maintains and deals with frequent tenant problems
that go above and beyond the call of duty. Lou and Gigot have a profound impact
on each other with Gigot supplying the stable father figure she has never had
while Lou helps Gigot face his demons and build a new life as he seeks out his
estranged father (Ned Beatty) and with the help of Ira (Don Rickles), a
cantankerous elderly tenant, begins the process of legally adapting Lou as his
daughter.
William H.
Macy is one of the finest actors working in theater, television, and feature
films today. He is simply terrific in this role, which requires him to display
all of his emotions in character without uttering a single syllable throughout
the entire movie. Perhaps one of the funniest comedians dating back 45 years,
Don Rickles delivers a wonderful character performance that stays true to the
somewhat dark dramatic tone of the film without sacrificing Rickles’ gift at
creating ironic humor through sarcasm that has in my opinion never been equaled
by any other comedian. I mean if you are going to get insulted by a standup
comic, Rickles will tear you apart, but keep you in stitches too. With so many
of his contemporaries having passed away, most recently the great Rodney
Dangerfield, it was a personal delight for me to see that Don Rickles is still
with us. I remember watching him in a sitcom on television in the 1970s as a boy
and I guess along with the Abbott and Costello feature films that used to air on
Sundays, watching Mr. Rickles perform will always have a nostalgic quality for
me. Keke Palmer is fine as the young orphaned girl while Ned Beatty and
Catherine O’Hara both turn in good guest supporting roles.
If there is
anything about the film that seemed off to me was that the final resolutions to
many of the character arcs just seemed a little too neat and positive even for a
holiday movie. I feel as though ten or twenty minutes of action that would make
the film’s final minutes match up with the first three quarters are missing.
However I did enjoy “The Wool Cap” and think it is definitely a TV holiday
film that is worth catching when it makes its world premiere on TNT on Sunday,
November 21, 2004, at 8pm (ET/PT) with encores as follows:
All
Times (ET/PT)
Sunday,
November 21, 2004, at 10pm
Monday,
November 22, 2004, at 12am
Wednesday,
November 24, 2004, at 9pm
Wednesday,
November 24, 2004, at 11pm
Thursday,
November 25, 2004, at 11am
Saturday,
November 27, 2004, at 12pm
Sunday,
November 28, 2004, at 9am
© Copyright
2004 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.