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So much average

Admirable film.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I loved this documentary but kinda got the impression it was somewhat biased against Tina Louise. She is portrayed as selfish and self-centered in the show and the documentary states incorrectly she never participated in any reunions and cut her ties to the show because she thought it hurt her career. She did on several occasions appear in reunions the most famous was the 1988 Gilligan's Island reunion on the David Letterman show which was the last time the entire cast was together before the passings of Jim Backus in 1989, Alan Hale Jr in 1990 then Natalie Schafer in 1991. Tina has also appeared at a few others reunions the most recent was the TV Land awards. Still this documentary sheds light on a great deal of what went on behind the scenes and a must have for anyone who grew up on this show. The story of Jim Backus' battle with Parkinsons is compelling as is the story of Natalie Schafer's battle with breast cancer.

As a 32 year old, I grew up with watching Gilligan's Island. By watching this interesting "behind the scenes", I learned a lot. Heck, I never realized that Tina Louise was ashamed of being a part of the series. What a loser! Anyway, this was a lot of fun to watch as was anything but a "scandle" documentary. I was, at first, expecting to see some kind of E The True Hollywood Story. This was, instead, a very tastefully and well done story.

Mine will probably be the ONLY complaint, if you don't count other reviews. But I think what they did to Tina was just awful, and very unprofessional. Ms.Wells claims this is not a movie about rumors, does she really know the definition? Ok, the movie was alright, the actors were ok. Actually! the actor portraying Alan Hale looked amazingly identical to him! I give my compliments on that casting job. The good thing about Tina Louise is that I think she is above the whole thing, shes not the kind to go back and get revenge for how they made her look. so 2 me, she's a better person! and to the person who posted a message here a while ago saying that Tina is Ginger even if she doesnt like it, that is a horrible thing to say! don't you know that that is why she wanted to get away from "Ginger" because Ginger isn't real! but Tina is! and it's really a shame that some people don't see that! it's typical type-casting. and to those people who have no respect for Tina Louise, I feel sorry for you, because your missing out on someone great! it's your loss! definitly my gain.

At first, I thought two hours was going to be a little long for this nostalgic look at the cast and making of the evergreen series, "Gilligan's Island." However, the retrospective was delightful! Mary Ann, Gilligan, and the Professor share their stories from this early sixties series that almost wasn't. The show is particularly funny when it's not pulling punches about Tina Louise's attitude toward the show (and it manages to get the digs in in a good-hearted way) and the Mary Ann vs Ginger comparison. The casting for the "then" characters is amazing, especially Eric Alan Kramer's Alan Hale Jr. and Steve Vinovich's Jim Backus. It rides the line between heartfelt and sappy very well and it's great to see how amazing Dawn Wells (Mary Ann), Bob Denver (Gilligan), and Russell Johnson (the Professor) look.