08/08/06 The Producers

The Producers (2005), directed by Susan Stroman

watched w/ Leslie (partially); DVD rental (Blockbuster) @ home

Alright, the premise has got to seem so watered down from the original by now...so I went in with no high expectations, and hearing very mixed reviews about this latest installment (see, way to cash in on a good thing). We all know the routine by now, right? Let's take a classic cinematic spoof (Mel Brooks' original 1968 hit), put it on Broadway (art imitates life or vice versa?), make millions, take the same cast from Broadway (Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane) and make another movie/remake/adaptation of it circa now, and oh yeah...let's add some more star quality to the billboard to make it stick. So, that leaves us with a watered down premise that still has to induce some laughs that made us chuckle so many years ago...but we can dance more I guess. OK, I'm a cynic at heart, but I must say that I was at least not disappointed by this one. That may not be the greatest praise that a film could receive, but considering the route it took to get here, not bad. Broderick (taking over for brilliant Gene Wilder) plays mousey and neurotic accountant Leo Bloom, who has come into business with former Broadway king Max Bialystock (Lane taking over for rotund Zero Mostel) in order to get his finances in order. Max is hurting for a hit and some fame again, forced to romance old widowed socialites for money, when Leo comes along with a suggestion. He suggests that it could be more lucrative for them to gather financiers' checks to put on a sure-fire flop of a play, than to have to produce a hit that would eventually pay out to the investors. With this "take the money and run" approach, the two men concoct a madcap plan to put on the worst fiasco Broadway has ever seen...which leads us to the infamous play "Springtime For Hitler" written by escaped Nazi Franz Liebkind (Will Ferrell), and starring air-headed Swedish bombshell Ulla (Uma Thurman). With a band of characters in tow, the film hits bumps along the way with lack of originality...but still keeps the goofs going with bad taste, corny jokes and witty musical numbers. It's a decent comedy, nothing spectacular (which now looking at the original with Wilder & Mostel, we had). I guess it's hard to keep that success translating from stage to screen...or was that screen to stage to screen to...oh forget it.

3 out of 5 stars