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Back Shelf Beauties
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The Producers It's Springtime for Hitler in the Cineplex, and everyone involved with The Producers is hoping to recapture the magic of this Broadway production and sweep the 2005 Oscars like they swept the 2001 Tonys. They come close. For those who aren't familiar with the story, Nathan Lane stars as Max Bialystock - a man who produces the biggest bombs on Broadway. Suffering from the ignominy of his latest flop of a show, Max meets up with accountant Leopold Bloom (Matthew Broderick) - a man who has always dreamed of being a Broadway producer. After crunching some numbers, the milquetoast, nervous accountant full of ticks, fears and compulsions believes he has come upon a unique idea. Leo believes a Broadway show could be extremely profitable if it is a flop of historical proportions, but he isn't sure he is unscrupulous enough to go through with the possibly illegal plan. Of course, Max, a man who sent his conscience on a permanent vacation years ago, is raring to go, and convinces Leo to join him in the scam to make $2 million ($1 million each) by producing a show so bad, it will be shut down before the opening night performance ends. What show could be so horrible to achieve this humiliation, but lucrative, goal? Yes, it's Springtime for Hitler. Can Max and Leo find the worst script, worst director and worst actors ever assembled to pull off their dastardly plan? The Producers is a funny movie full of enjoyable song and dance moments, but director Susan Stroman (who also directed the musical on Broadway) makes some mistakes along the way. First, the movie is shot almost as if we are watching the production on a Broadway stage, complete with set pieces, several actors playing multiple parts, and an unrealistic feel to it all. I love this idea! Why shy away from the fact this was a hugely successful Broadway play, and why not provide that experience to the millions who could never make the trip to New York or afford the tickets to the show? Since the movie is set sometime in the fifties or early sixties, and we want to focus on the performers more than the sets, this works. However, Stroman decides to film some scenes live in New York near Central Park. The contrast of the two looks is upsetting to the eye and feel of the movie. It takes us out of the moment and out of the story's time period when we see modern day New York, even if the shots of Central Park don't give away the date. Second, Stroman doesn't fully commit to the theatrical production feel of the movie when she shoots the song and dance numbers, and scenes with many performers. Instead of taking in all of the action and letting us see the subtle reactions and acting going on behind the main focus of the scene (something I have always considered the best part of seeing a live show), she overdoes it with the close ups, especially during Ulla's (Uma Thurman) big number. This isn't to say Stroman did a horrible job. She produces some energetic, almost magical numbers including the infamous opening to Springtime for Hitler, and gets the most out of the cast, especially some supporting cast members like Thurman, Jon Lovitz in a fantastic appearance as Leo's boss (he chews up the scenery as if this is the role he was born to play), and Will Ferrell as playwright Franz Liebkind - a crazy former Nazi who idolizes Hitler and sees the musical as a tribute to his misunderstood hero. Thurman is sexier than I have ever seen her as Ulla - Max and Leo's Swedish secretary/receptionist who dreams of being in the show. She shows better comic timing than I thought she might have, and quickly acclimates herself to the required dancing (even if a stunt double CLEARLY and OBVIOUSLY does some of the harder stuff, they might as well have put Lane in a wig it was so obvious). Ferrell is better than I have ever seen him as the whacked out writer. His over-the-top style fits the role perfectly, but he doesn't go too far like he sometimes does in his other movies. Franz is crazy, but not annoyingly so. Other supporting cast members find their moments as well, including Roger "The pharmacist from Desperate Housewives" Bart and Gary Beach as the director of Springtime for Hitler who almost steals the show with his hilarious performance of the title number. Of course, many want to see the duo who made this a smash on Broadway, and you get what you want. The Producers is Nathan Lane's movie. Broderick is OK, but needs to work on his lip synching and sometimes appears lost and overpowered by his co-star. However, most people would be overpowered by Lane. He is nothing short of brilliant as he revels in the character's lack of ethics, excels as a master of broad comedy, shows cutting and perfect timing in every scene and almost brings down the house in his solo recreation of the entire movie in a song and dance number towards the end of the film (throughout the piece, he has to recreate each character, often doing better than some of the cast playing the character in the movie). Even though the scene comes off as superfluous, he sells it and makes you forgive whoever wrote the song. He is alive and natural in ways every actor dreams when rehearsing a character. The Producers is a great outing for the family, if everyone is over the age of 13. The film is a Mel Brooks movie in every sense of the word, so it's raunchy, naughty, full of stereotypes designed to mock the stereotype and extremely hilarious. 3 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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