May we all live long enough to be as happy as Norman Lear.
The producer who transformed TV comedy in the 1970s with hits like "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" turned 94 last month, and is clearly tickled to be able to impress people just by entering a room under his own power.
He does much more than that _ and even sings a bit _ in "Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You," a charming new documentary.
Lear went into therapy in his 80s as part of the process of writing his 2014 memoir, "Even This I Get to Experience," and directors Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing may have benefited, too, from the ensuing excavation, which included memories of his father, a small-time criminal whose attitudes and expressions _ including "Stifle!" _ inspired Archie Bunker.
In one scene, Lear comes clean about an anecdote he had long repeated, stolen from a friend's grandfather, as part of an effort to reframe a difficult childhood.
"Just Another Version" is less sweeping than Lear's memoir but filled with smartly chosen clips. Interviews with the producer and others who were there for the peak of his success _ and, perhaps, his arrogance _ are juxtaposed with views of the present-day Lear, a man who has enjoyed a long, late-in-life third marriage and the experience of fathering children who didn't have to compete with TV shows for his attention.
"He's the youngest man I know," says "Everybody Loves Raymond" creator Phil Rosenthal. Other interviewees include Lear admirers Amy Poehler, George Clooney, Jon Stewart, and director (and "All in the Family" star) Rob Reiner, though no one tops Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, old friends who get together with Lear to reminisce.
I could have done without the device that puts a young actor in Lear's trademark porkpie hat, but the film _ which premiered in January at Sundance and will be featured Oct. 25 on PBS' "American Masters" _ moves, like Lear, at a sprightly pace.
And in capturing a man in his 10th decade who remains as curious and forward-looking as ever, "Just Another Version of You" offers hope that age is, after all, just another number.
