Wake Up and Live: Radio Feuds and Old-School Vaudeville

Is it worth your time?

If you like old movies where people talk in that fast, punchy 1930s cadence, you might get a kick out of this. It’s definitely for the crowd that enjoys watching media icons mock their own public personas. If you need a movie to actually have a plot that goes somewhere besides a radio booth, though? You might find yourself checking your watch.

The whole thing is built around this very public, very annoying feud between Ben Bernie and Walter Winchell. Watching real-life celebrities play themselves is always a weird experience. It’s like watching a scripted version of a Twitter war, but with better hats and way more jazz.

There is a guy who just wants to sing, and honestly, the movie is at its best when it stops trying to be a meta-commentary on the radio industry. Whenever the music starts, the air in the room feels a little less stale. Alice Faye shows up and suddenly the movie has a pulse again, which is a nice break from all the bickering.

I couldn't help but think about how strange it is to center a film on people who are famous for literally just talking. It’s got that same frantic, "look at me" energy you find in movies like Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs. Everyone is moving, everyone is talking over each other, and nobody is really listening.

Odd little observations:

• The radio equipment looks like it weighs as much as a small car.
• Every time Winchell speaks, you can practically hear the ink hitting the paper on his column.
• Some of these jokes have aged like milk, but the physical comedy is still surprisingly snappy.
• There is a moment near the middle where the pacing just falls off a cliff, and it feels like the director went out for a long lunch.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s barely even a coherent story. But there’s something charming about how desperate these people are to stay relevant. It’s like a time capsule for people who think modern influencers are bad—spoiler alert, people have been obsessed with their own "brand" for a long, long time.

I keep thinking about the scenes in the studio. They feel so claustrophobic. It’s all wires and cigarettes and people shouting into brass trumpets. It makes me miss the era where fame was just about having a loud enough voice. 📻

Anyway, don’t go in expecting A Stitch in Time levels of craft. Just enjoy the weird, loud, slightly messy spectacle of it all.