The Producers
***

http://www.theproducersmovie.com/

Directed by
Susan Stroman

Written by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
Mel Brooks 1968 screenplay
Mel Brooks 2001 stage play book & Thomas Meehan 2001 stage play music &
Mel Brooks 2001 stage play lyrics

With:
Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Ferrell, Roger Bart, Gary Beach

"Springtime for Hitler: A gay romp with Eva and Adolph at Berchtesgaden."

(In the middle of writing this review, I had the chance to go see The Producers a second time with my friend Liran… which is spelled 'Lee Ran' but pronounced 'Lee Ron' like the French. But she isn't French. Go figure. Anyway I hope to go see it a third time with my friend Brittany. Which is pronounced the same way it is spelled. Ever notice how a lot of my friends are young, attractive women? God, I love my life. Anyway, the movie was even better the second time. I was able to see things I missed the go around…)

I spent most of Christmas Eve (after checking out what Santa brought me) trying to convince my wife and mother in law to spend a couple of hours on Christmas day at the movies.
Since none of us watch sports on TV the only other way for us to spend the day would be to take a nap. Not that this would have been a bad idea, but I wanted to see The Producers. I have been a fan of the original for years, and wanted to see the Broadway production but never had the money to travel to where Lane and Broderick were performing.
So, when I heard they were doing a full screen, blow it out of the water production I was elated. Then I was worried. How could the top the original, I wondered? Would they be able to capture Zero Mostel's facial expressions? Could they repeat the innocent and neurotic Leo Bloom as well as Gene Wilder?
Well, yes they can. In fact, they went well beyond what I expected. Even after I got home, I was still laughing and thinking of the film. My mother in law complained that her jaw hurt from all the smiling she did during the film.
The combination of movie/stage play seemed strange at first but it didn't take long before the audience began to feel like they were a part of a well-done Broadway production. Even when the camera moved outside it all felt like it was supposed to be, just natural with no forced emotion or hubris to clog up the sets.
In fact, it didn't take very long for the audience to get to the point of laughing their heads almost off. During the really big stage scene, everyone was laughing. I heard several people around me humming or softly singing the most famous song, which normally would have been distracting, here it almost fit to have the audience singing. *At the end of the second viewing, there were two girls and a young man who came out of the auditorium singing "Prisoners of Love"*
Ok, I have always loved musical comedy and have never denied that fact. I think it is almost a lost art form in the theater. But, films like The Producers could bring it back. And I think that is needed in this day of CGI, big explosions and T&A films designed for a hormone imbalanced younger audience.
There is no reason why going to the movies should not be fun again. And Mel Brooks does his dead level best to make them as much fun as he can. He has given us a great gift for the holidays, something the whole family can enjoy. Especially since most of the adult humor is so far above most heads that even the grown-ups will have a difficult time following it and there is almost no dirty language.
Since I have never made it a problem to not gush over people I like in film, I admit I am a Level One fan of Mel Brooks. The man has more talent then a room full of most comedy writers. And his humor today is as good as it was when he was writing for television, while still aimed at an audience that can range from a 10 year old to an 80 year old and probably a few even older folks would find themselves reaching for the oxygen hose after laughing so hard.
And while I went into the Producers planning to compare it to the original, I found that I could not do that. Mostel and Wilder possessed the characters they created like the demon possessed the little girl in the Exorcist. They had control of them, and left an indelible impression in the mind of the viewer, which will never be taken from them.
But Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick have also taken possession of those same characters, and while staying true to the original blueprint, tweaked them and made them their own in this version.
They are the same characters, just with a couple of differences in expression or the sound of their voice, but it works. Man, how it does work.
And I think that most everyone who saw the original will make the attempt to either compare Lane and Broderick to Mostel and Wilder, just like I did. The job I and these other fans will face is accepting the new actors on face value. If that can be done, I think the older fan will have a marvelous time.
It is difficult to not have a good time in The Producers. The film is rapid fire delivery, snappy tunes and sharp comedy handed out in a style and manner that will be shocking for a lot of 'movie fans' but once you get past the colder, less friendly atmosphere of a movie auditorium and into the theater like quality of the performance, I think you will be quite pleased.
And this is a film that asks you to laugh out loud. It is not hesitant in its desire to be seen as a comedy. It does not try to be socially redeeming, offer a moralistic story line or hide its humor behind some idealistic anti/pro attitude toward any political party.
It is a comedy, broadly painted with slapstick humor, ribald laughter and suggestive song. Feel free to laugh.
Oh, and feel free to take the kids who are over 9 or 10. Sure, they will see some suggestive stuff, for most of it is so superior to the gutter swill they normally see that they will miss or not understand it. What they will get is first class singing, dancing and seeing real pros at work at the job they love best.
Also, just a bit of advice: stay until the end of the credits.

"Even though we're sitting down, we're giving you a standing ovation."