Kelly WandThe Producers
October 29th 2006 03:59
Remakes are never easy and the better the better the original film, the less easy they are to pull off. Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” is one of the absolute classics of cinema and it would seem to be a fool’s errand revisiting such hallowed celluloid. Unnecessary too. The original version is still fresh as a daisy.
Of course, a lot can happen in thirty years. Someone could have taken a film about a crooked Broadway producer and turned it into an award winning Broadway stage show. (And they say cinema is self referential.) Seeing money rolling in on this new vehicle, it seemed only sensible to make a film of the musical.
A Broadway producer and his timid accountant work out a way that they can make more money from a flop than they could with a hit. To make their dream a reality, they must find the worst play of all time and they think they have found it in “Springtime for Hitler”. Now all they need is the worst cast and the worst director. Where could their scheme possibly go right?
Well, I was dubious… right up until the first musical number. As soon as the film broke off from the mother ship, I was happy to follow it where ever it led. It never strays too far from its source and the happy ending is irksome. Mathew Broderick and Nathan Lane aren’t a scratch on the original pairing of Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. Uma Thurman takes a nothing role and would have come close to stealing the picture if it wasn’t for Will Ferrell.
Listen closely, for I will only say this once; Will Ferrell is great in his role as a Nazi pigeon fancier. I am sure that this is an enormous glitch in his otherwise mediocre career and will be remedied almost immediately in his next starring role.
When the camp director takes to the stage to play the part of Hitler, it is one piece of Broadway whimsy too many for my tastes. The film of the stage show of the film is far less acerbic than the film itself. Still, I will confess that I wore a big happy grin throughout this film. I couldn’t help myself. I love a good musical!
Of course, a lot can happen in thirty years. Someone could have taken a film about a crooked Broadway producer and turned it into an award winning Broadway stage show. (And they say cinema is self referential.) Seeing money rolling in on this new vehicle, it seemed only sensible to make a film of the musical.
A Broadway producer and his timid accountant work out a way that they can make more money from a flop than they could with a hit. To make their dream a reality, they must find the worst play of all time and they think they have found it in “Springtime for Hitler”. Now all they need is the worst cast and the worst director. Where could their scheme possibly go right?
Well, I was dubious… right up until the first musical number. As soon as the film broke off from the mother ship, I was happy to follow it where ever it led. It never strays too far from its source and the happy ending is irksome. Mathew Broderick and Nathan Lane aren’t a scratch on the original pairing of Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. Uma Thurman takes a nothing role and would have come close to stealing the picture if it wasn’t for Will Ferrell.
Listen closely, for I will only say this once; Will Ferrell is great in his role as a Nazi pigeon fancier. I am sure that this is an enormous glitch in his otherwise mediocre career and will be remedied almost immediately in his next starring role.
When the camp director takes to the stage to play the part of Hitler, it is one piece of Broadway whimsy too many for my tastes. The film of the stage show of the film is far less acerbic than the film itself. Still, I will confess that I wore a big happy grin throughout this film. I couldn’t help myself. I love a good musical!
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