jeremyfromva
12/13/05, 11:07 AM
Review: ‘The Producers‘
Staff and agencies
13 December, 2005
By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer 38 minutes ago
And so it‘s springtime for Hitler again, time to choose sides over the two movie versions of "The Producers," Mel Brooks ‘ comedy about Broadway con artists.
Do Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick , reprising their roles from the stage musical, measure up to Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder , the stars of the original 1968 film? Not quite, but Lane and Broderick make a great romp of it all.
Is the new version as funny as the original, which earned Brooks an Academy Award for his screenplay? Again, not quite, because it treads a great deal of the same ground, down to much of the dialogue and even the comedic tone Lane and Broderick strike in their exchanges. But the original is hardly a DVD owned by every household, so it‘ll all be new to many movie-goers, and the new version does add some clever gags and has a supporting cast that often outshines that of the 1968 film, led by Uma Thurman , Will Ferrell , Roger Bart and Gary Beach.
So, all things considered: As the original was for 1968 audiences, the musical version of "The Producers" is about as much pure fun as you‘ll have at the movies this year. It‘s wacky and giddy in a way Hollywood films rarely are nowadays.
"The Producers" is at its weakest early on, during the long, somewhat awkward setup in which Lane‘s desperate-for-a-hit Broadway producer Max Bialystock gets acquainted with Broderick‘s jittery Leopold Bloom, an accountant sent to do Max‘s books.
Once Leo hits on the story‘s pivotal notion — that producers could make more money with a flop by pocketing investors‘ unspent cash — the film quickly gains momentum with priceless comedy sequences and show-stopping numbers that playfully tweak yet respectfully salute old Hollywood musicals.
Thurman as bouncy Swedish bimbo Ulla, who becomes Max and Leo‘s secretary and a co-star in "Springtime for Hitler," shows off a great set of lungs belting out her big solo number and shares a sweet Astaire-and-Rogers routine with Broderick on a soft love song.
Jon Lovitz adds a jolly bit role as Leo‘s imperious accounting-house boss.
There are several reasons to stick through the closing credits. First is Ferrell‘s hilariously sappy reprise of his "Der Guten Tag Hop Clop" tune, which plays over the first half of the credits. And at the very end, there‘s a little bonus musical number, with a cameo Brooks fans will not want to miss.
Staff and agencies
13 December, 2005
By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer 38 minutes ago
And so it‘s springtime for Hitler again, time to choose sides over the two movie versions of "The Producers," Mel Brooks ‘ comedy about Broadway con artists.
Do Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick , reprising their roles from the stage musical, measure up to Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder , the stars of the original 1968 film? Not quite, but Lane and Broderick make a great romp of it all.
Is the new version as funny as the original, which earned Brooks an Academy Award for his screenplay? Again, not quite, because it treads a great deal of the same ground, down to much of the dialogue and even the comedic tone Lane and Broderick strike in their exchanges. But the original is hardly a DVD owned by every household, so it‘ll all be new to many movie-goers, and the new version does add some clever gags and has a supporting cast that often outshines that of the 1968 film, led by Uma Thurman , Will Ferrell , Roger Bart and Gary Beach.
So, all things considered: As the original was for 1968 audiences, the musical version of "The Producers" is about as much pure fun as you‘ll have at the movies this year. It‘s wacky and giddy in a way Hollywood films rarely are nowadays.
"The Producers" is at its weakest early on, during the long, somewhat awkward setup in which Lane‘s desperate-for-a-hit Broadway producer Max Bialystock gets acquainted with Broderick‘s jittery Leopold Bloom, an accountant sent to do Max‘s books.
Once Leo hits on the story‘s pivotal notion — that producers could make more money with a flop by pocketing investors‘ unspent cash — the film quickly gains momentum with priceless comedy sequences and show-stopping numbers that playfully tweak yet respectfully salute old Hollywood musicals.
Thurman as bouncy Swedish bimbo Ulla, who becomes Max and Leo‘s secretary and a co-star in "Springtime for Hitler," shows off a great set of lungs belting out her big solo number and shares a sweet Astaire-and-Rogers routine with Broderick on a soft love song.
Jon Lovitz adds a jolly bit role as Leo‘s imperious accounting-house boss.
There are several reasons to stick through the closing credits. First is Ferrell‘s hilariously sappy reprise of his "Der Guten Tag Hop Clop" tune, which plays over the first half of the credits. And at the very end, there‘s a little bonus musical number, with a cameo Brooks fans will not want to miss.