Movie Review - "The Producers" - 2005 Version

I’m not really on a musical kick. Things just kind of worked out this way. Like I said, I’m working my way through a two year backlog of films so be patient. Besides you might run across these flicks in Blockbuster and not know anything about them so for all you know, I could be helping out.

I don’t think anyone would argue with the statement that, of the musicals to see theatrical release in the past ten years, Rob Marshall’s take on Chicago is easily the best. There’s a stigma that goes along with making such films. Musicals are boring, clichéd, too long, unrealistic, etc. Chicago worked because it ignored all of those excuses, dove in head first and came out aces mainly because of its attitude. The Producers isn’t a bad film, it’s just too careful.

Fans of the musical breathed a big, big sigh when Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick signed on to reprise the lead roles they created for the stage. Some people probably breathed another hefty sign when Susan Strohman, the director and choreographer of the original production, agreed to direct the film. These may have been sighs of relief at first but in the end, the film has so much trouble letting go of the musical that it comes out as a fascinating exercise in mediocrity.

The problem seems to start with Strohman and work its way down. Some of the bigger, flashier numbers succeed tremendously which is no surprise. The art of spectacle is not lost on a stage director of Strohman’s caliber. I liked the scene in Leo’s accounting firm as well as Bialystock’s mass seduction sequence. Lane and Broderick sell these scenes particularly well because this is the only time they don’t seem bored with the material.

Lane still seems a bit enchanted with playing Max Bialystock. He’s as witty as ever and does what he can even though he doesn’t have anything new to work with. Broderick on the other hand looks like he’s been on Broadway too long. He spends the entire film with his eyes fit to pop out of their sockets, a necessary touch when playing to back row in theater, but on film it’s corny and over the top. When he’s not singing he acts like he’s simply killing time between numbers as though he’s still trying to convince the average filmgoer that he’s not Ferris Bueller.

A lot of this goes back to Strohman who makes her feature film debut with The Producers. She holds so tight to the ideals of the stage that she only brings the film down. Many of the gags are still in place here which is fine occasionally because they are funny but the timing feels off. Again, these are STAGE GAGS which means they don’t necessarily translate to the silver screen. They feel telegraphed and easy with all the subtleties of a midget with an M-16.

These are minor issues; not big, screaming complaints. Most days I’d rather have real gripes with a film because then I can just say “It stinks, don’t bother”. I can’t say that here. Even Will Ferrell and Uma Thurman, both a little miscast, don’t fall flat on their faces. Thurman certainly looks the part and pulls it off with relative success as long as she’s not singing. Ferrell has the same trouble but we’ve all ready seen him doing this part so many times (on SNL and every other film he’s ever done) that it doesn’t feel like he’s creating a role. He seems like he’s just doing shtick while somebody off camera dangles a paycheck in front of him.

These are all talented folks but unfortunately the lot of them popping up in a film together just doesn’t blow my skirt up the way it could have. It’s passable, even amusing at times, but in the end it falls squarely into that loathsome little category of movies about which I can only say, “Eh…”.

Links:

A little about the film....

...and about the musical.


And now I go wait tables! Bye!