Hi, I'm Alison, going to be around a bit more now as off work recovering after abdominal surgery. ...
Hi, I'm Alison, going to be around a bit more now as off work recovering after abdominal surgery. I also write on Dooyoo under the same name but under the picture of my dog Oscar!
Member since:27.07.2003
Reviews:158
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I seem to be making a habit of watching films that I have no idea what they are about and The Producers was no exception. My husband had added it to the rental list on Amazon and when we sat down to watch it last week I had no idea what it was about or who was in it. So imagine my surprise when I discovered it was in fact a musical.
The film features the actors Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick (Sarah Jessica Parkers husband) and Uma Thurman amongst others.
The film was originally produced in 1968 and this is a re-make of the original film and was released in 2005. The original film was made into a Broadway production before the release of this second film. I believe that Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick both appeared in the Broadway musical production before filming this version.
The basic plot of the film is that Max Bialystock (played by Nathan Lane) is a Broadway producer who doesn’t have much luck when it comes to successful productions. He is running out of money
and cons little old ladies to hand over cheques in return for a little loving! He is getting into more trouble and is facing difficulties as he is unable to pay his taxes when his accountant Leopold Bloom (played by Matthew Broderick) just casually mentions that it is ironic but you can make more money from a Broadway flop than you would from a success. At this Bialystocks ears prick up and he sets about trying to persuade Bloom to help him in his plan to make money by producing a Broadway disaster.
They read through hundreds of scripts until they come upon the sure to be offensive script written by a Nazi supporter (played by Will Ferrell) called “Springtime for Hitler”. This is a musical about Hitler and tries to portray him in a good light, as this film is set in the 1950s you can imagine it wouldn’t go down too well! The men are sure that this production will close on opening night and they will be in the money ….. or will they??
To make certain they then set about to persuade the worst director to join them. Enter Roger DeBris (played by Gary Beach) a very camp director with his team of assistants who look like extras from the village people. Their advice to make the production successful is summed up in the song they sing “make it gay, make it gay”. This isn’t a film for the politically correct, there are definitely a lot of stereotypes, from the camp director, to the greedy producer, the quiet accountant and the sex-mad Swede. This brings me on to Uma Thurman who plays Ulla the Swedish actress who doesn’t speak much English but who can dance and doesn’t mind acting as a receptionist until the production is up and running. She also plays the love interest for the shy and bumbling Bloom.
The musical numbers are great fun and that’s where the film really comes into its own. There’s a great song where the accountants are all sitting row by row typing numbers in and the sound of the keys gives the beat of the song and they all sing “Unhappy, Unhappy”. Then later the chorus girls appear and start dancing with Bloom and they are all pretty, young and blonde and then at the end is an older one with lots of make-up on who can’t keep up with all the right steps. I also enjoyed the old ladies dancing with their zimmer frames, here again the beat of the song is their zimmers moving in time.
The film has lots of funny moments, the actual production of Springtime for Hitler is funny but I also enjoyed the German pigeons who although not very realistic adds to their charm and brings a few laughs.
I thought this was a fairly enjoyable film. It’s not the best musical film ever made but it’s enjoyable to watch, there are bits which make you laugh and the song and dance numbers are good. It’s not a film I would buy or probably choose to watch again but I am glad I watched it and if you like musical films then you might enjoy it too.
**** Further Information ****
Price - £4.97 from Amazon at time of writing Classification - 12 DVD Release Date - 24 April 2006 Run Time - 134 minutes
**** Special Features: ****
Featurette - Telling you a bit about the film and the actors
Blooper Reel – To be honest I got a bit bored with this, there are a few funny bits but mainly its actors getting the giggles trying to say their lines and it gets a bit repetitive.
Deleted Scenes – some deleted scenes but nothing too exciting.
Director Commentary – the usual director’s commentary on the film.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Tony Dow - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: John Challis, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Tessa Peake-Jones, Gwyneth Strong
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Sounds a bit better than some other reviews have indicated (it was slated when it came out I think) I am tempted as I really like Brodericak and Lane...hmmm :-)
Advantages: Great song and dance routines and a marvellous central performance from Lane Disadvantages: A touch too stagey and a less endearing turn from Broderick
afy9mab 22.04.2006 ·
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Review of The Producers (DVD)
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