THE PRODUCERS (2005) *1/2 How good can a musical be if you can't stand any of the musical numbers? Well, better than this but I don't like any of the music in it much either. I can see how maybe Mel Brooks thought that he didn't quite get everything that he could of out of The Producers . It was a fine film, but the possibility persists that greatness (within reach) escaped it. But this .the music & lyrics lack any of the genius of Brooks. Their sole identifying characteristic is that they go on for waaay too long, each, and although it's not beyond Mel to irritate on purpose it's always been paired with an even greater ability to charm. It's not fair to compare them to Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder-except that they're playing the same parts-so it's fair to say that Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick aren't as good. They're very silly, and pretty funny, and not so bad really.they're quite ok and often better, but they never rise from interesting distraction to entertainment. Now Will Ferrell does, you've got to say that he's very very funny as the neo-Nazi (yes, watching people laugh at this is probably part of Hitler's punishment). In a similar vein Robert Bart is tremendous as the gayest man near Broadway. And with all of his competition in the same frame at one point. And Uma Thurman as an Amazon singing Swedish girl..you couldn't go wrong with that one, but it can only save moments at a time. I do have to say that I think that the presentation of "Springtime For Hitler" was even better here than in the original. For once having the songs suck so bad becomes a virtue, and the desperation to overplay every aspect of every scene rendered glorious. Could it have been..with more better music, more like Mel? I don't know, maybe, but let's not try again.
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