Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Goldberg (2009)

93% of critics liked it
(69 reviews)
65% of users liked it
(2,300 ratings)

For more than 25 years, Gertrude Berg was one of the most prominent women in American broadcast media and popular culture, as the creator, writer, producer, and star of The Goldbergs, first on radio (where it was originally known as The Rise of the Goldbergs) and then on television. Berg -- who was… More For more than 25 years, Gertrude Berg was one of the most prominent women in American broadcast media and popular culture, as the creator, writer, producer, and star of The Goldbergs, first on radio (where it was originally known as The Rise of the Goldbergs) and then on television. Berg -- who was best-known to the public in the identity of her character Molly Goldberg -- occupied a unique niche in the fabric of American life, and throughout the 1930s, she and Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of the president, competed annually in polls for the title of most prominent woman in America. Berg was even called "The First Lady of Radio" at a time when radio was king. Later on, in the television era, she invented the family sitcom as we came to know it, and did battle against the Red Scare and the blacklist. Director Aviva Kempner's documentary gives an intimate and detailed a look at the life of Berg, who died in 1966 virtually forgotten by the executives of the industry that she helped build. In the process, she and the other participants, and their widows and children, as well as admirers such as United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, explain how this woman, an articulate and intelligent first-generation Jewish American with little formal background in writing and no knowledge of the media, rose to such success in just a few years -- and why she was forgotten and swept aside almost as quickly at the other end of her career. Participants and interviewees, in addition to Justice Ginsberg, include producer/writer Norman Lear, actor Edward Asner, and writer/producer Gary David Goldberg. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Aviva Kempner
Genres: Documentary, Television

In Theaters: Jul 10, 2009 Wide
On DVD: May 1, 2010
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader
It is only in the sequence about Berg's popular costar Philip Loeb that Aviva Kempner's documentary resonates.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Yoo-Hoo suggests that, yes, Berg broke new ground and, no, she shouldn't be forgotten. But it doesn't explain why she endured, or why she is so forgotten today.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Charming.
Jason Anderson, Toronto Star
History has been unfair to Berg, a fact that filmmaker Aviva Kempner hopes to correct with this illuminating documentary.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Aviva Kempner's documentary Yoo Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg is a delightful introduction to Berg, who began writing and performing skits at her father's resort hotel in the Catskill Mountains, then studied drama at Columbia University.
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
In Yoo Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg, Kempner gives us a balance of artist and alter ego, introducing us to a woman we'd like to know even better.
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com
Aviva Kempner's documentary is a real eye-opener on an influential woman whose once central place in American popular has been mostly forgotten.
Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis
Gertrude Berg was the Queen of All Media long before Howard Stern ever dreamed about being King.
David Cornelius, Popcornworld
Berg's professional story is worthy enough to be retold, although one wishes for something a little more emotionally compelling.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Berg's imaginary Bronx family rooted in ethnic pride, captivated at a time of tremendous pressure on immigrants to assimilate and conform, and suppress their unique cultural identity. And while windows nicely substituted for texting.
Emily S. Mendel, culturevulture.net
Kempner has made The Goldbergs informative, entertaining, poignant, and ... nostalgic. A piece of history has been saved.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
A remarkable story, all the more remarkable for the era in which it happened, an era when most women had almost no opportunities to become famous, rich and powerful. Gertrude Berg not only triumphed during this time, she was the Oprah Winfrey of her time.
Justin Strout, Orlando Weekly
It's puzzling that a paean to Gertrude Berg's Jewish New York housewife, Mrs. Goldberg -- a character so beloved and enduring that she could serve as a travel guide through early-to-mid-20th-century history -- could fall so flat.
Bill Gibron, PopMatters
No matter the accomplishments during her lifetime, Gertrude Berg remains an integral part of the modern media's formation. Thankfully, we now have a permanent testament to how important - and irresistible - she was.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
Stylistically unpretentious but highly informative and enjoyable documentary [on] one of radio's great stars and a television pioneer.
Jim Slotek, Jam! Movies
Stylistically, Aviva Kempner's documentary is no ground-breaker. But its old-school talking-heads/narration/footage format suits its subject matter, and the remarkable story needs no window dressing.
Keith Cohen, Entertainment Spectrum
Kempner did her homework in restoring from obscurity this trailblazing sitcom pioneer. The film is well-organized and filled with interesting trivia tidbits.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
Kempner marshals an impressive lineup of both Berg and Goldberg fans to underscore the irrefutable significance of her subject.

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Walter M

"Yoo-Hoo, Mrs, Goldberg" is a charming and informative documentary about Getrude Berg, nee Tilly Edelstein, who was not only the star of "The Goldbergs," an immensely popular sitcom that originated on the radio, but also wrote the scripts in the days before word… More
"Yoo-Hoo, Mrs, Goldberg" is a charming and informative documentary about Getrude Berg, nee Tilly Edelstein, who was not only the star of "The Goldbergs," an immensely popular sitcom that originated on the radio, but also wrote the scripts in the days before word processors and computers with bad handwriting that puts my atrocious handwriting to shame.(One interviewee refers to her as the Oprah of her time.) What's especially noteworthy about "The Goldbergs" is that it is the prototypical family sitcom, influencing many sitcoms in the years to come.(Norman Lear is on hand to testify to this.) Although, to be honest, any television series that lasts for any period of time will have rising stars passing through at some point. "The Goldbergs" not only has an important place in television history but also in the current events of the times by presenting a Jewish family in New York City without stereotypes in a time of growing anti-semitism in the 1930's. And the television program would be adversely affected by the Blacklist of the 1950's, despite its huge popularity. Sadly enough, "The Goldbergs" has faded somewhat from memory as it has not found a new audience with younger generations which hopefully this fine documentary helps to rectify.