The Producers (Movie-Only Edition)

Rating:
Summary: "Hold me, touch me!"
Review: This was Mel Brooks' first film, and it showcased his wacky sense of humor. After all, where else could a washed up Broadway producer (who romances the elderly for cash), his anxiety ridden accountant (who carries a security blanket), his go-go dancing secretary and a Nazi-loving playwright sporting a Keiser helmet all come together?

Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) is tired of romancing old ladies for peanuts. "You know who I used to be?", he moans, "Max Bialystock, King of Broadway. Six shows running at once! Lunch at Delmonico's, two-hundred-dollar suits (remember, this was 1969)...Look at me now. Look at me now! I'm wearing a cardboard belt! I used to have thousands of investors begging, pleading to put their money in a Max Bialystock production. Look at my investors now...Hundreds of little old ladies stopping off at Max Bialystock's office to grab a last thrill on the way to the cemetery." His accountant, Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder)informs him that he's quickly falling into the red. Max comes up with a brilliant idea: raise more money than you need for a play, then make it a sure-fire flop. But what play could be enough of a stinker to deliver? "Springtime for Hilter", written by ex-Nazi Franz Liebkind (Kenneth Mars), whose only friends are the filthy pigeons he keeps on his roof. But Max and Leo are in for an unpleasant surprise; "Springtime" is SO bad, it's considered a laugh-out-loud smash hit, and everyone wants to see it. Who knew? With opening song lyrics like, "Don't be stupid, be a smarty. Come and join the Nazi Party!", who thought people whould love it?

"The Producers" is number 11 on the American Film Institute's list of America's 100 Funniest Movies, and with good reason. I never got to see the Broadway production starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, but I'm sure it was fantastic. The remake, starring Lane, Broderick, Nicole Kidman (as the secretary) and SNL alumni Will Ferrell as Franz Liebkind is on it's way soon. But no matter how brilliant the new cast, it can't entirely take the place of the original. DVD includes original theatrical trailer.



Rating:
Summary: Brooks Hits Homerun on First Pitch
Review: I'll say upfront that "The Producers" is one of the funniest films ever made. Mel Brooks, at the peak of his comic genius, crafted a film that is hilarious from start to finish. What we have to bear in mind is that Brooks took some sacred cows(for their day)and exploited them for comic effect. Who else would start their film with an unscrupulous theatrical producer seducing an octogenarian woman for money? Who else would think that a musical about the Third Reich is ripe for comic material? Amazingly, Brooks' creation here is an original, unlike his later parodies of film genres, and he won an Oscar for his efforts. Brooks is aided by a stellar cast. Zero Mostel is hilarious as Max Bialystock, the producer without any discernible scruples. Gene Wilder is his equal as Leo Bloom, the nervous accountant who at first reluctantly, then willingly, goes along with Bialystock's scheme. Kenneth Mars is hilarious as Franz Liebkin, the true-believer author of "Springtime for Hitler-A Gay Romp With Adolf and Eva at Birkdesgaden". Christopher Hewitt does a flamboyant turn as the play's director, Roger DeBris. The only character I didn't buy was L.S.D., the actor eventually hired to play Hitler played by Dick Shawn. I just found that hippie character to be too cliched. Another minor gripe is that I found the play's opening production number funnier than anything that followed it, but the film's audience feels the opposite. A few other casting notes is that the stewbum at the bar with Mostel and Wilder is played by William Hickey who later gained fame as the godfather in "Prizzi's Honor". Lee Meredith is unbelievably sexy as Ulla, the "toy" that Mostel purchases for himself.

Rating:
Summary: I LAUGHED MY BALLS OFF!
Review: My wife and I are adopting as I can no longer produce children of my own.