To tell you the truth, I haven't seen the 1968 original. Seriously. It's on my Netflix queue. So is you're a "The Producers"-the-way-it-was addict, trying to figure out if the remake can measure up to the greatness of the first, I can't help you. Judging from the reviews, I'll guess that if you are in that group, you will not enjoy this. Actually, if you are not familiar with "The Producers" in any way, shape, or form, you may not get it. It has a fairly small audience. I will just get on with it and tell you about the movie, and if you think it sounds stupid, for you, it probably will be.
"The Producers" is, first and foremost, a musical. The film starts in 1950's New York, with a catchy song performed by a group of people who have just seen "the worst show in town." The show is so bad, in fact, that they feel the need to through music, announce the play's crappiness to the world. In the song, they mention the play's inept director, Max Bialystock, "a bum." Next thing we know, we are taken to Bialystock's apartment, who we discover, is all they say and more.
Max (Nathan Lane) was, amazingly, once a successful producer, but as he aged he became less and less popular and his plays became increasingly dreadful. He lives in an apartment crammed with set design junk that looks like it would look better off at a yard sale. To get by, he prostitutes himself to old ladies looking for "one last thrill on their way to the cemetery." Wow. Max, to put it simply, is a mess. Of course, it is obvious he will be teamed up with a man who is almost more screwed up than he is.
The man is Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick,) a nervous, timid accountant who arrives at about the same time as one of Max's 'backers,' "Hold Me, Touch Me" shows up. When the the sex-hungry elderly lady comes to the door, Leo is unceremoniously shoved into a bathroom while she is let in and Max and her engage in a weird "game." When she leaves, Leo comes out and informs Max that although he's sorry he caught him "feeling up the old lady," he has something wrong with his account.
It turns out that Max has been cheating with his money, but he convince Leo to "move some decimals around" While Max naps on the couch and Leo looks over the account, he says offhandedly that under the right circumstances, a producer could make more money with a flop than he could with a hit. Max, now awake, instantly comes up with a plan to get himself out of the hole financially. He and Leo, he decides, will intentionally make a horrible play and claim that they didn't get their money. The authorities, then, will never guess that Leo and Max's play was deliberately bad.
Leo isn't keen on they plan, and Max proceeds to chase him all over New York City singing "We Can Do It." Leo refuses, and it take him some time in his dead-end job with his horrible boss and another musical number to make him realize that he does, in fact, want to go through with it. So he quits his job and informs Max that he's willing to find the worst play ever written and produce it. They spend the rest of the night pouring over play, and finally find the flop. The title- "Springtime for Hitler." The writer- Franz Leibken. The play, in Max's words, is "practically a love letter to Hitler." Confident that it will offend hundreds of people, the go meet Franz Leibken to get him to sign permission- saying, of course, that his play is a masterpiece.
Now here's where things get really wacky. Franz (Will Ferrell,) a singing, dancing nazi, is more than happy to sign, after making them join with him in the fuhrers favorite song and take the Seigfried oath to honor Hitler. The two aren't comfortable with this, but will do anything to get paid. At long last, Franz signs. Good- now all they need is a director and actors.
The director, in my personal favorite scene, is a flamboyant, outrageously stereotyped gay drag queen, Roger De Bries. Now, you would think the last thing on a homosexual's mind, who were actually targeted during the Holocaust, would be to be involved with a play praising nazism. Luckily for Max and Leo, neither Roger or his houseful of gay roommates are particularly bright, and their main concern is that the play is too downbeat. So, to prove their point, they sing a not very subtly insinuated song, "Keep it Gay" (My favorite!) Eventually, however, Max and Leo convince them to participate.
Their lead position for lead actress is filled by ditzy Swedish sexpot Ulla, who both Leo and Max fall head-over-heels for. The other roles are soon taken, and the play begins, with both men positive it will flop. The situation, though, soon takes an unexpected and chaotic turn.
This film hold a different experience for me each time I watch it, which isn't necessarily a good thing. The first time I didn't get it, and I left halfway through. The second I decided to give it another chance, and sort of liked it. The third, I had decided I really liked it, though I wasn't exactly sure why. And the fourth time? As it began, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. As it went on, though, I began to glance at the time on the DVD player. Even the gay scene wasn't as enjoyable as usual. The film really came to life at the musical sequences, but at other times it was drawn-out and passe'.
Not that I disliked it, overall. Nathan Lane was consistently amusing as Max. Certain scenes were so over-the-top that me and my brother laughed and smiled with glee. Other parts we laughed, but the laugh was slightly more of a groan. At the end, we liked it, but I at least was glad to go to bed.
"The Producers" isn't a bad movie. Or if it is, it's a bad movie that causes me to smile, which makes it not so bad. I cannot recommend or disrecommend it, just say that it grew on me, and I liked it enough to Netflix the original. If you hate it, I understand, but that doesn't make the weird enjoyment that I experience putting the DVD in the player go away.(Rated PG-13)
"The Producers" is, first and foremost, a musical. The film starts in 1950's New York, with a catchy song performed by a group of people who have just seen "the worst show in town." The show is so bad, in fact, that they feel the need to through music, announce the play's crappiness to the world. In the song, they mention the play's inept director, Max Bialystock, "a bum." Next thing we know, we are taken to Bialystock's apartment, who we discover, is all they say and more.
Max (Nathan Lane) was, amazingly, once a successful producer, but as he aged he became less and less popular and his plays became increasingly dreadful. He lives in an apartment crammed with set design junk that looks like it would look better off at a yard sale. To get by, he prostitutes himself to old ladies looking for "one last thrill on their way to the cemetery." Wow. Max, to put it simply, is a mess. Of course, it is obvious he will be teamed up with a man who is almost more screwed up than he is.
The man is Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick,) a nervous, timid accountant who arrives at about the same time as one of Max's 'backers,' "Hold Me, Touch Me" shows up. When the the sex-hungry elderly lady comes to the door, Leo is unceremoniously shoved into a bathroom while she is let in and Max and her engage in a weird "game." When she leaves, Leo comes out and informs Max that although he's sorry he caught him "feeling up the old lady," he has something wrong with his account.
It turns out that Max has been cheating with his money, but he convince Leo to "move some decimals around" While Max naps on the couch and Leo looks over the account, he says offhandedly that under the right circumstances, a producer could make more money with a flop than he could with a hit. Max, now awake, instantly comes up with a plan to get himself out of the hole financially. He and Leo, he decides, will intentionally make a horrible play and claim that they didn't get their money. The authorities, then, will never guess that Leo and Max's play was deliberately bad.
Leo isn't keen on they plan, and Max proceeds to chase him all over New York City singing "We Can Do It." Leo refuses, and it take him some time in his dead-end job with his horrible boss and another musical number to make him realize that he does, in fact, want to go through with it. So he quits his job and informs Max that he's willing to find the worst play ever written and produce it. They spend the rest of the night pouring over play, and finally find the flop. The title- "Springtime for Hitler." The writer- Franz Leibken. The play, in Max's words, is "practically a love letter to Hitler." Confident that it will offend hundreds of people, the go meet Franz Leibken to get him to sign permission- saying, of course, that his play is a masterpiece.
Now here's where things get really wacky. Franz (Will Ferrell,) a singing, dancing nazi, is more than happy to sign, after making them join with him in the fuhrers favorite song and take the Seigfried oath to honor Hitler. The two aren't comfortable with this, but will do anything to get paid. At long last, Franz signs. Good- now all they need is a director and actors.
The director, in my personal favorite scene, is a flamboyant, outrageously stereotyped gay drag queen, Roger De Bries. Now, you would think the last thing on a homosexual's mind, who were actually targeted during the Holocaust, would be to be involved with a play praising nazism. Luckily for Max and Leo, neither Roger or his houseful of gay roommates are particularly bright, and their main concern is that the play is too downbeat. So, to prove their point, they sing a not very subtly insinuated song, "Keep it Gay" (My favorite!) Eventually, however, Max and Leo convince them to participate.
Their lead position for lead actress is filled by ditzy Swedish sexpot Ulla, who both Leo and Max fall head-over-heels for. The other roles are soon taken, and the play begins, with both men positive it will flop. The situation, though, soon takes an unexpected and chaotic turn.
This film hold a different experience for me each time I watch it, which isn't necessarily a good thing. The first time I didn't get it, and I left halfway through. The second I decided to give it another chance, and sort of liked it. The third, I had decided I really liked it, though I wasn't exactly sure why. And the fourth time? As it began, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. As it went on, though, I began to glance at the time on the DVD player. Even the gay scene wasn't as enjoyable as usual. The film really came to life at the musical sequences, but at other times it was drawn-out and passe'.
Not that I disliked it, overall. Nathan Lane was consistently amusing as Max. Certain scenes were so over-the-top that me and my brother laughed and smiled with glee. Other parts we laughed, but the laugh was slightly more of a groan. At the end, we liked it, but I at least was glad to go to bed.
"The Producers" isn't a bad movie. Or if it is, it's a bad movie that causes me to smile, which makes it not so bad. I cannot recommend or disrecommend it, just say that it grew on me, and I liked it enough to Netflix the original. If you hate it, I understand, but that doesn't make the weird enjoyment that I experience putting the DVD in the player go away.(Rated PG-13)
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