It wasn’t until much later that I realised the little winged friend had disappeared. Why didn’t I notice? Two words: The Producers. For
someone that would rather line a new garbage bin than attend a musical,
it’s really something to say this reviewer was seduced by the
charm of a Broadway musical Xeroxed for cinema. It most certainly
did win me over though - I don’t think I had laughed as hard as I
did here, in ages - well, not since Channel Nine lost the rights
to Seinfeld (the wife even gave me a few stares). Granted, what may have made the experience so much more pleasurable was the fact that I am new to the world of The Producers.
I haven’t seen the original film, I haven’t seen any of the
many stage incarnations - the most famous starring Matthew Broderick
and Nathan Lane - so all the jokes, all the batty moments, all those
zany characters…they were as fresh as bakery bread. On the
other hand, I can’t see why fans of the original stage show
won’t enjoy it just as much. The thing looks, smells, and plays
like a stage show. While that can sometimes be a bad thing, I’m
inclined to think it works in this film’s favour. It’s as
if stars Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane are performing just for us,
the DVD audience. The basic premise, for those two or three
people out there who don't know, has a stocky B-grade theatre producer
(Lane) teaming with a wimpish accountant (Broderick) to produce a play.
Not just any play - a big time flop. If a play closes on opening night,
they could oversell shares to the backers of the production and make
millions of dollars when the play tanked. The duo find the
perfect bomb in "Springtime for Hitler" a terrible camp play that
serves as an ode to the playwright’s hero, Adolph Hitler. Everything
about the film - except perhaps the last few moments that don’t
possess as much fun - seems to work. The actors are fantastic -
especially Lane, Broderick and a wildly funny Will Ferrell as German
writer Franz Liebkind - the musical sequences are lively and funny, and
the set pieces and milieu are apt too. If there is anything wrong
with the film - well, besides the abovementioned last few scenes that
needed a bit more punch - it’s the fact that it might be too
loyal to the stage show. There’s nothing really here that
suggests this is a film. Director Susan Stroman might as well as have
plonked her Panasonic DV near the stage and pressed record. Still, a
movie ticket is cheaper than a theatre ticket, no? The Producers is a wildly good time, so prepare yourself for a barrel of laughs! EXTRASExtras include some amusing outtakes, a reasonably informative commentary, deleted scenes and a making-of. Not a bad package. Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 65% 
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