Released: 12/?/05

Viewed: 1:15pm 11/18/05

Starring: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Will Ferrell, Roger Bart, Gary Beach

Directed by: Susan Stroman

So, yeah, as Phil points out, The Producers is a movie based on the hugely successful Broadway play, which is based on a less successful movie about a hugely successful Broadway play. That kind of inbreeding can't be good. Truth is though that the cast and crew of this film (even with some high profile new comers) have done this performance so many times that it has become second nature. Their version will be the version people remember, even if the original film starred the great Gene Wilder.

Wow, it has not been a good year for him in terms of remakes. At least he was the better Wonka.

Even if the material has been recycled and adjusted so many times, you kind of get the feeling these folks have gotten it right. Even thought I didn't really care for it.

I like musicals enough, but I was not familiar with this one at all. Yes, I live in NY, but no it's not easy to get tickets to high profile plays, especially on my meager earnings. So I knew next to nothing about this version. Judging from the response of the folks around me in the theatre, this is a pretty accurate adaptation from stage to screen. People were singing along, and cheering when the regular cast members popped up on screen. It was really annoying! (Huge fake smile, the kind of smile that hides blinding anger)

But I'm glad they're happy. It should be a faithful adaptation before it's entertaining to folks who could care less. But that might be the problem. The movie looses me on two specific points: bad assumptions and music.

My assumptions are modest, mostly that the lead characters wouldn't be completely insane. In their opening scene, which feels to be about 25 minutes too long, Lane and Broderick take turns going back and forth being retarded. One's completely uncontrollable as the other tries to control them. Then ? SWITCH! Broderick pulls out a blanket and takes us on a one-way ride to crazy town.

This quickly became frustrating, because it goes on for a long time. A direct result of the lengthy musical numbers. Music can be great in a film, but it can also really kill it. The Producers suffers from these long repetitive songs that kill any pacing and movement the movie has. There are two or three that work pretty well, in my opinion because they're funny. Keep it Gay is easily the funniest, and I liked When You Got It, Flaunt It (performed by Uma Thurman) for completely different reasons. But most of the songs are used to set mood or emphasize a moment, and it's done to an extent that you're taken right out of things.

It's frustrating because the mastermind behind everything is Mel Brooks who also wrote the lyrics. But he's written funnier lyrics before, and I feel like if the songs were more fun, they would have been more bearable. Instead it just seems like our favorite dirty old man finally grew up.

The acting from Broderick, and Lane I felt to be really frustrating. Almost as if they were over rehearsed or TOO comfortable with the parts, if that makes sense. I kept getting this feeling of familiarity from Broderick's performance. Something about the speech patterns and mannerisms I just couldn't place. About half way through it hit me that he was playing the role as Sponge Bob square pants. It's freaky, but watch it and you'll see. It's so much like Sponge Bob that if all the sudden he grabbed a starfish and hugged it I wouldn't have been surprised at all.

This could be my problem, because Broderick will forever to me be Ferris Bueller. Every time he acts differently it always seems odd. Even in movies that I really like. My fear is that he'll be living down that part in my mind forever.

The real treat of the movie is it's supporting players. New comers to the production Uma Thurman, as Ulla the Swedish assistant and Will Ferrell the Nazi German playwright are both fantastic. Uma is sexy as sin, and delightfully ditzy, and Ferrell's scene where he tells the pigeons of his success was one of the funnier moments of the entire film. Both were wise additions that not only brought on quality talent, but also broaden the overall appeal of the movie as it seeks out a larger audience on screen.

If they're the ones that draw you in, these next two will be the ones that convert you. Gary Beach and Roger Bart steal every scene they're in as an ageing actor and his assistant who are desperate for a new hit. Beach as "gay Hitler" is insanely funny and over the top to perfection. Over exaggerated gay humor is a big part of the story in The Producers so you think it would get tired and old, but these guys are hilarious through out.

Overall I left the theater very unsatisfied. There are some very funny parts, and Uma has legs for days, but since when is that good enough reason to recommend a movie? But this movie has earned a lot of respect. It's getting a lot of Oscar buzz and already received a handful of Golden Globe nominations. It may be great as a musical on screen, but it's far from a great movie. So, either I have zero taste in movies, or maybe it's been a slow year in quality movies. I knew this was the year I should have produced my autobiography: Gah! We'll get ?em next year. 4.5 out of 10, unless of course you have a fast forward button on your theatrical cut and can skip the second half of every song. Because after the 3rd chorus ? we got it; you want to be a producer. Now bring the gay guys back, they're hysterical.

DVD worthy?:

No. There are funny parts I would like to see again, but there are more musical productions I would prefer to avoid. When it comes on TV in a few years I will gladly flip back and forth between that and a Night Court marathon.

If you liked this movie check out: The Music Man

Ok, my mom loves musicals. I'm sure she'll love the Producers. My point is she would watch them all the time if she could. So this stuff was always around while I was growing up. Some of them I like, some I loathe, and some I love. The Music Man rocked hard. I just thought it was funny, and had a good story.

It's a story a lot like the Producers, in that it's a big scheme to trick people out of money. They got to great lengths to get some cash. It's been a while since I've seen it, but I think it would hold up. Actually, Broderick did a remake a few years ago, but his over staged version lacked the charm of the original. So if you LOVED the Producers, check out Music Man.

I'm still hung up on the Sponge Bob thing. It's freaked me out, so that's what today's incentive is about. If Sponge Bob got the role, and one the Oscar it would look like? this

. I'm assuming it would anyway. Possibly with more jewelry. Thanks for reading guys!

Oh, one last thing. A couple of weeks ago a reader named Steve Shinney mentioned me in his school paper The Utah Statesman. So I sent him my thanks for spreading the good word. He e-mailed me back and ended up pointing me at this other feature in the paper called the Preemptive Critic where he and his friends do little write ups about movies before watching them. Normally I would say that judging a movie before seeing it is the wrong way to go, but these are pretty funny so I support it whole heartedly. Thanks again for the mention Steve!