The Producers
(2005) (1/2
star)
review by Jon
Waterman
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 1967 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.
Now, Matthew Broderick (Bloom) and Nathan Lane (Bialystock)
may have had good chemistry in “The Lion King” and
maybe even in the stage play, but I didn’t really feel
it here. I felt like they were trying too hard to do impressions
of the characters originated by Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel,
respectively. However, neither has the comedic aptitude of
their counterparts and thus can’t quite capture the subtleties
of the part. Sure they can yell, but I don’t see the
slime dripping off of Lane. I don’t see the nervous teddy
bear in Broderick. Instead I see thick lined cartoons. The
same goes for the supporting cast. For some reason it seems
like they have to overcompensate by being more outrageous than
what came before them. The worst is how outlandish the whole
gay director scene plays out now. They fill it up with prolonged
hisses and an entourage of Village People. It doesn’t
seem out of place, necessarily, because every supporting character
is completely out there and overly stereotypical. But it’s
much easier to laugh at a crazy Nazi supporting pigeon-raising
playwright than a fleet of gay Broadway workers. Well, I guess
it would be easier if the Nazi were funny.
The film does a relatively good job of incorporating the musical
element into a theatrical picture. I’d much rather see
it done this way than in “Chicago” where it felt
like I was watching a straight-up stage production. But even
though the scenes transitioned nicely and the set pieces were
appropriately extravagant, the lack of anything else to get
excited about let me looking at my watch waiting for the story
to advance. I also wish they would have done a better job of
explaining how a flop would make them more money than a hit.
I guess you should watch the original for that. Actually, you
should just watch the
original for any of it. It’s much
better. And shorter.
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