The Producers
Review by Adam Weeks
The Producers, if you haven’t heard about it
by now, was (and still is) a very successful Broadway play
that starred Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, under the
direction of Susan Stroman.
The play was itself based on a 1968 film of the same name
from Mel Brooks, who decided to jazz it up into a full blown
musical version for the stage.
Now comes the theatrical version of the stage version of
the original version, that stars Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick,
under the direction of Susan Stroman. Keeping up?
Okay, the story of The Producers is this: Max Bialystock
(Lane) is a down and out Broadway producer who, fresh on the
dismal failure of his latest show, has naïve young accountant
Leo Bloom (Broderick) audit his books to see how far along
he is before he hits rock bottom.
When Leo mentions that, as a technicality, a play could make
more money for its producer if it turns out to be a catastrophe,
they both team up with a plan to find the very worst script
that they can, hire the most washed-up director in town, raise
two million dollars in cash, and retire to a tropical paradise.
Firstly, their "dream" script comes to them by
way of the musical 'Springtime For Hitler', written by "definitely
not a Nazi" Franz Liebkind (Will Ferrell), a leading
lady in the shapely form of Ulla (Uma Thurman), and finally,
a rather, well, flamboyant director by the name of Roger De
Bris (Gary Beach), all of which combined have the potential
to become the biggest bomb in the history of theatre.
But instead, the boys start breaking sweat when they realise
that they have one of the biggest success stories going…
The Producers looks like a hit, feels like a hit,
and certainly sounds like a hit, so why did I find myself
not enjoying it as much as I’d hoped? I guess the main
reason is that having seen the stage show before, the big
screen version is pretty much exactly the same thing, and
it’s done as though it is actually the stage show, which
leaves me with a "what’s the point?" kind of
feeling.
That being said, if you’ve never had the privilege of
seeing the show before, you will have a fantastic time with
it, from the absolute top-shelf production numbers, through
to some fantastic performances from the supporting cast.
Gary Beach as the renowned “De Bris” is absolutely
brilliant in the part, as is his manservant, Carmen (Roger
Bart), who’s entrance to the film will have you in stitches.
Special appreciation goes towards the brilliantly cast Will
Ferrell and Uma Thurman, who both put in such extraordinarily
funny touches to their characters, that you’ll be screaming
for award nominations for them.
At the end of it all, The Producers felt like Gus
Van Sant’s remake of Psycho to me. You remember
why you really enjoyed the original, you appreciate the overall
quality of it all, and you certainly marvel at all the details
along the way, but ultimately there’s just something
missing to it all.
As I’ve said though, I have no doubt that any newcomers
to the story will love it.
3 out of 5
The Producers
Australian release: Thursday the 12th of January, 2006.
Cast: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Will Ferrell, Uma
Thurman, Roger Bart.
Director: Susan Stroman.
Website: Click
here.
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