Well, I'm going to keep this intro short and sweet. Two new reviews for you to enjoy. More will be coming later. And away I go. Come back soon.



The Producers (2005)
Review by Jon Waterman

1/2 star

Struggling Broadway producer Max Bialystock is becoming increasingly desperate. Mostly he’s relying on his ability to charm little old horny ladies out of their retirement checks in order to keep his slumping entertainment career afloat. That is, until he comes across accountant Leo Bloom. Leo comes by and inadvertently tells Max of a moneymaking scheme. All they have to do is put on a play that’s guaranteed to flop. The two eventually partner up and find the perfect script: “Springtime for Hitler.” How can they miss?

Well, if we’re talking about the movie, it misses on several major elements. As many of you are well aware, this is a movie based on a Broadway musical based on a movie (about a Broadway musical). Having not only the critically acclaimed original film and musical as points of comparison certainly works against it. And how do you keep the same amount of story while giving the audience unfunny, flow-killing musical numbers? Why, you have to add time, of course! The 1968 version clocks in at 88 minutes. Even after cutting three songs from the Broadway show (which I haven’t seen, and no longer want to), the 2005 movie is a staggering 134 minutes. That’s nearly an hour of mind-numbing song.
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+++++++++


The Producers (1968)
Review by Jon Waterman

***1/2

Producer Max Bialystock is in a rut. He used to be the über-producer on Broadway, churning out hit after hit. Now he’s fallen on hard times and has to scrape the bottom of the fundraising barrel to put together any type of play. Existence is looking pretty low until accountant Leo Bloom enters to balance the books from Max’s last flop. Leo finds out that Max raised more money than he used to create the play, and is just told to hide it. It’s then that Leo theorizes that one could make more money from a flop than with a hit, by doing the same thing on a larger scale. The two go into business together and set out to make the worst play the theater community has ever seen.

Established TV writer, Mel Brooks, makes his feature-length directorial and writing debut in this brilliant and occasionally funny film. The whole film screams of a vaudevillian influence. Actually, the whole movie screams. There are countless moments where a joke is delivered at the top of the characters’ lungs. I guess the louder it is, the funnier it is (and that rule of thumb works most of the time here).
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