Love, Gilda
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: September 21, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Original-CinKim HughesSep 20, 2018
It’s hard to imagine anyone who enjoyed Radner’s performances in their lifetime not finding much to love about Love, Gilda… even as our hearts break a little at what might have been had she lived longer. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSep 19, 2018
Thanks to Radner’s letters, diaries and autobiography, director Lisa D’Apolito is able to tell us, with great immediacy, what Radner’s thoughts were at the time. We come away with the portrait of someone who was never just going along for the ride, but who was always questioning and challenging herself, working toward professional excellence and hoping for an ideal romance. Read full review
90
Film ThreatAlan NgSep 18, 2018
Love Gilda is one of those documentaries that will make you laugh, touch your heart, and inspire to make the most of your life without fear. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaSep 18, 2018
As a love letter to a talented and endearing soul, it's hard to fault Love, Gilda. Like its subject, it feels remarkably honest and genuine. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiSep 19, 2018
To be crystal clear: Comedian and actress Gilda Radner was a genius. Her humor and her life were an impeccable combination of a love of life and precise comic timing. There are beings that light this planet, shining brightly. And Radner shined. It is impossible for me to think of a world without her, and Lisa Dapolito’s documentary goes above and beyond in marking this person’s life. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperSep 26, 2018
D’Apolito does a beautiful job of honoring Radner, but I found myself wishing Love, Gilda was a two-part, four-hour documentary, a la Judd Apatow’s “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling.” There’s just too much Gilda greatness — on and off camera — to be contained in an 86-minute box. Read full review
88
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 31, 2018
Dapolito gets at what Radner represented to those who followed her, and what Radner recognized in herself, that play-acting comedy let her “be prettier than I was, be people I could never be…Comedy allowed me to be in control of my situation.” Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatySep 20, 2018
Love, Gilda is penetrating, painful, and personal. Read full review
80
SlateEllin SteinSep 20, 2018
The result, like much of Radner’s comedy, is entertaining, appealing, and more soft-centered than challenging or acerbic. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenSep 20, 2018
A stirring valentine of a documentary. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJason ZinomanSep 20, 2018
Love, Gilda is a very affectionate reminder of her brief and brilliant career, a heartfelt love letter whose title might be more accurate without the comma. Read full review
80
Screen DailyAllan HunterApr 27, 2018
A comprehensive remembrance of Radner’s public legacy is underpinned by an engrossing insight into her private struggles, making for an informative and poignant showbusiness story. Read full review
80
UproxxMike RyanApr 27, 2018
What makes Lisa D’Apolito’s Love, Gilda special is that D’Apolito has a secret weapon: Gilda Radner herself. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartSep 20, 2018
At its best, Love, Gilda intertwines the comic’s own narration — drawn from audiotapes, interviews and journals — with reflections from her current-day admirers. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsSep 20, 2018
The documentary Love, Gilda works different ways for different viewers. For older fans, it’s a welcome excuse to reminisce. For newcomers it’s an entertaining primer on Radner’s life, times, demons and famous inventions. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldSep 18, 2018
There’s no happy ending to this story, but it’s a pleasure to spend just a bit of time with Radner again. Read full review
75
TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanApr 27, 2018
It’s no easy task to find a fresh way to approach a familiar face, but D’Apolito does a wonderful job ushering us through the highs and lows of Gilda Radner’s life. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanApr 27, 2018
Love, Gilda is plain but beautifully crafted. It draws you close to Radner, presenting her rise through the world of ’70s comedy as a journey of discovery. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeApr 27, 2018
A warm if not quite comprehensive-feeling biography of a performer who, even for a celebrity, elicited an unusually strong personal affection from fans, Lisa D'Apolito's Love, Gilda tells the far too short story of Gilda Radner. Read full review
67
ConsequenceClint WorthingtonSep 20, 2018
Whether the result of the film’s brisk 90-minute runtime, or a lack of desire to investigate some of its subject’s greater desires and fears, Love, Gilda feels breezy to a fault. Read full review
67
IndieWireKate ErblandApr 27, 2018
Love, Gilda is the rare documentary that could stand to pile on longer clips of its subject’s early years without feeling indulgent. Once you start watching Radner, it’s hard to stop, and the sheer force of her talent and the way she reveled in sharing it remains contagious. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorSep 20, 2018
Love, Gilda reveals this but does not probe it. With various soft and admiring interviews, it relies mainly on Radner’s own words to hint at how dark things got. Read full review
63
Slant MagazinePat BrownSep 18, 2018
Its success is due to the way it relies on Radner's often elegant words to relay her experience of female stardom. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerSep 18, 2018
The emotional impact is ultimately surprisingly muted; she dies too soon, and the movie ends. Then again, it’s hard to blame anyone for assuming that consistent access to Radner’s voice, in moments both public and candid, would be enough. She radiates such joy, all these years later, that it nearly is. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrSep 19, 2018
With all that good will and with an abundance of source material, why does the documentary Love, Gilda feel like such a disappointment? It’s fine for casual viewers: you’ll come away reasonably satisfied if you want to catch up on the basics of Radner’s life and career while having your nostalgia gently stroked. Read full review
50
Rolling StoneDavid FearSep 19, 2018
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You’ll leave still loving Gilda. The movie, not so much. Read full review
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