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“I wanna be a producer…’cause it’s everything I’m not.”
Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane), a producer once known as the “king of Broadway,” has been down on his luck lately—all of his recent shows have been flops. The only upside to his career downturn is the extra money he’s raised to fund the shows, which he ends up pocketing when the shows are inevitably closed. However, his luck changes on a dime when his new accountant—a nervous, jittery individual named Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick)—points out that, given the right circumstances, a producer could make more money with a flop than he could with a hit show. All he has to do is raise way more money than he’d ever need to produce the show, ensure its failure, and skip town with the extra cash.
Enthralled by this scheme, Max convinces Leo to quit his job as a public accountant and join him on his quest to produce the biggest flop on Broadway. Their first step is to find the worst play ever written. After reading through tons of plays, they stumble upon a gold mine: a neo-Nazi apologist musical called Springtime for Hitler. Convinced that they can’t find a bigger disaster in the making, they agree to produce the play and then go on to hire the worst person possible to direct the show: a flamboyantly gay director called Roger De Bris (Gary Beach). Then they assemble the worst cast imaginable, even going so far as to cast the show’s writer (Will Ferrell) in the starring role of Hitler.
Their plan is foolproof. They’ve found the worst show ever—guaranteed to offend theatergoers of all ages. There’s no way Max and Leo’s plan can fail…or is there?
Like most of Mel Brooks’ work, The Producers is nonstop hilarity from start to finish—complete with running gags that you can see coming from a mile away (in a good way). The original Broadway production won a record 12 Tony awards, including Best Musical. And the movie version is almost as thoroughly enjoyable.
Most of the lead roles in the film are portrayed by the same people who originated the roles on Broadway. As the overweight, greedy producer Max Bialystock, Nathan Lane is…well, he’s Nathan Lane. He’s very funny, but he can come off a little overbearing and obnoxious at times (especially for people who aren’t quite used to his unique brand of comedy). I thought he was great. I’m not a huge fan of Matthew Broderick in general (given his still-boyish appearance and demeanor, I usually find that he’s miscast in most adult roles), but as the quirky and neurotic-to-the-point-of-insanity Leo Bloom, he’s tolerable…almost likeable.
The supporting cast is superb, but the real surprises come from the two big-name additions to the film version: Will Ferrell and Uma Thurman. As Franz Liebkind, the neo-Nazi writer of Springtime for Hitler, Ferrell gives a hilarious performance. His song-and-dance number with Max and Leo, “Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop,” was the highlight of the film for me. And Uma Thurman, playing sexy Swedish receptionist Ulla, shows off a big voice as she struts her stuff in the song, “If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It.”
The Producers overindulges at times, and it runs a little long. Fans of the Broadway show or the original 1968 film might find it hard to keep from making comparisons. But the good stuff far outweighs the bad in this movie, so if you’re looking for a fun, entertaining film with lots of giggles and big song-and-dance numbers, check it out. And if you do go, be sure to stick around through all of the credits. You’re in for a couple of treats, including the “full” vocal version of “Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop” (performed by Will Ferrell) and a surprise final number, complete with a cameo by Mel Brooks.
Content: A
Performances: A-
Overall: A
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