Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Robert Gold I won't rehash most of what has been written about this terrific film already, but there are some things I would have liked to have learned about from the filmmaker. For example, the audience gets to see Gertrude Berg's grandson and granddaughter both being interviewed, but what happened to Berg's actual son and daughter? Had they passed away? Did they decline to be interviewed? {January 7, 2018: I discovered when reading Glenn D. Smith Jr.'s detailed and fascinating book "Something on My Own" Gertrude Berg and American Broadcasting 1929-1956 (2007) that her son Cherney and her daughter-in-law Dorothy both died in 2003 (as stated in the notes section in the back of the book on page 230). He also states that her daughter Harriet Berg-Schwartz also died in 2003 before his book was published (as stated in the preface). This explains why none of her children were shown speaking in the film itself.} Another point not mentioned was that the FBI cleared Philip Loeb's communistic attack as false. His reputation was cleared not long after Loeb committed suicide. Why was that not included in the film? I also found it surprising that there was NO mention of a Broadway musical starring Kaye Ballard called MOLLY which also featured Eli Mintz once again playing Uncle David. The musical ran on the Broadway stage at the Alvin Theater beginning September 27th for 40 previews to its opening on November 1st in 1973 for a total of 68 performances, later closing on December 29th. I know it may not be a lot of performances, but it is certainly worth mentioning. I actually wanted to recommend to viewers to take the time to watch the film twice: once by itself and once with the audio commentary by Aviva Kempner, the filmmaker. It is filled with much information that added to my appreciation and enjoyment of learning about The Goldbergs and about Gertrude Berg.

Michael Fargo The intense rush of nostalgia that Aviva Kempner's film floods the audience with is carefully interrupted with well-placed--though brief--darker sides of the facets of Gertrude Berg's extraordinarily unique life. For instance, we're shown the close relationship with her mother in earlier years, but later told a more troubling aspect which adds depth but never spoils Berg's optimism that was such a hallmark in her material.This technique is constantly employed and keeps us engaged with one exception: The McCarthy era is given a longer sequence into how the Red Channel affected those in Berg's circle and brought shame to a country that ironically also provided opportunity to many mentioned in the film, many of whom were broken beyond repair by rumor and suspicion.There's generous archival footage that covers the entirety of Berg's life, and reminds us of her contribution not only to early radio and television, but of a rare driven talent that can still touch us today. We're fortunate this film was made when it was since some of the original cast and friends and colleagues provide primary source material. This is a warm and loving portrait that also touches on difficulties most pioneers face.

jdesando When is a Jewish mother not a Jewish Mother? When she doesn't act just like Molly Goldberg, the heroine of a popular radio and television comedy, The Goldbergs, in the first half of the 20th century. Aviva Kempner's informative documentary about the life of Gertrude Berg, who played Molly, is more a survey of radio and TV culture at that time than an insightful probe into the life of one of broadcasting's pioneer women.Kempner's ability to weave in segments from shows, videos, interviews, and archival photographs puts the audience into the creative hotbed of the Depression through the post-WWII '50's. No one, not even Zero Mostel, can steal the stage from the affectionate, strong-willed character and actress (indeed, the two seem the same, so thoroughly did Berg develop Molly from within herself and her life).Remarkably, Berg also wrote all the shows, a precursor of the all-in-one writer, producer, and actor talents of later generations. Perhaps because of her assimilation into the character of Molly, the film is unable to penetrate the character of the real Gertrude, although I suspect the two sides of Gertrude are just that character. The documentary comments on Berg's sometimes tyrannical off-stage persona, and it does a reasonably good job showing the sacrifices she made to defend her radio and TV husband, Phillip Loeb, from accusations of Red Channels that he was a communist. That conflict and the decision, not hers, to locate the TV show from the Bronx to the suburbs, helped the closing of her career.It is probable that the notion of the benign, caring Jewish mother, was shaped in part by Gertrude Berg. It is almost certain she was a force behind the TV sitcom paradigm and the emergence of Lucille Ball as the new model of modern TV housewife-comedienne.Yoo-Hoo is a winning history lesson in broadcasting and women in all media.

fx_gent History is replete with countless stories of exceptional individuals. Unfortunately, when people discuss famous women, African Americans, Hispanics, ,etc. they tend to lean towards those individuals who are better known. Every so often there is the exception, the telling of those not remembered or forgotten, this documentary being one of them. Going into the theater I carried with me only the knowledge of who Getrude Berg was. I came out with a deep appreciation of what she accomplished in her life as a writer of 12,000 scripts; first lady of television, etc. and her overall impact. I was impressed especially at her work on behalf of her costar Phillip Loeb during the Communist witchhunts of the 1950s. This is an exceptional documentary and worth taking the time to see.