Carol Channing's heart captured in 'Larger Than Life'

A bonbon for buffs of all things Broadway, “Carol Channing: Larger Than Life” is a celebration and a lament — a celebration of Channing's seven decades as musical comedy star, and a lament that there's really no one like her anymore, a performer who eclipsed most of the roles she played by force of personality, and defined the word “trouper.” That she still brings these traits to the stage is one of the more heartening aspects of Dori Berinstein's lovingly assembled biodoc, another being the real-life romance at its center.

Best known for the two iconic roles she created on stage, Dolly Levy in “Hello, Dolly!” and Lorelei Lee in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” Channing retains a dry wit and an exuberance that belies her years (“I don't know why you applaud that,” she tells an appreciative audience, responding to her age. “It just happens.”) Any dark side to the thespian, if there is one, never comes through in “Larger Than Life.”

Berinstein (“Gotta Dance,” “ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway“) divides the film into chapters, each introduced by an animated version of an Abe Hirschfeld caricature of Channing — big, blonde, saucer-eyed and smiling. These take the viewer through the actress-comedienne's life, providing a rather conventional structure (career highlights, alternating with Channing's show prep, including a Kennedy Center program in 2008). But the material she has is first-rate. Channing's talk show appearances alone — in which she regales whatever host/victim she confronts with a dizzying display of accents, languages and shtick guaranteed to confuse and amuse — are worth the price of admission.