The Producers

Review by Clint Morris

A true testament to a film’s entertainment value is whether or not a giant moth sitting contently on the screen - dead centre, mind you, right on each characters face as they pass in and out of frame - puts you completely off.

Whilst I noticed said moth, and did briefly consider zipping down to the front of the theatre and attempting a swat, I just as quickly forgot about the huge microbe.

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 cinema 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!

3.5 out of 5

The Producers
Australian release: Thursday the 12th of January, 2006.
Cast: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Will Ferrell, Uma Thurman, Roger Bart, Gary Beach, Jon Lovitz.
Director: Susan Stroman.
Website: Click here.

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