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 2005 PG-13 / Musical Comedy Directed by: Starring: |
- No tagline
Summary Capsule
- A producer and an accountant decide the best way to make money is to make a Neo Nazi musical doomed to fail. So where did they go RIGHT?
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PoolMan's Rating: All dat und a bag of kartoffelchips.
PoolMan's Review: Allow me, if you will, to try and explain the enigma that is PoolMom.
My mom is a crazy lady. She's the only mom I've got, and she's a keeper, make no mistake, but she's every bit as weird as I am. Guess there's something to heredity after all. To my knowledge, her obsessions in life are as follows:
- 1) Men with moustaches. I've discussed this before, but just trust me on this.
2) Taking cruises. If a boat doesn't go there, neither does she.
3) Musicals.
Now, if that's not enough of a portrait, clear your calendar and I'll spill more, but for the purposes of this review, it should suffice. Mom is NUTS about musicals. I got her a copy of Chicago for her birthday this year, only to discover she not only already owns it, but watches it fortnightly. And I have to admit (again), it seems there's a leak in the genes, because I'm extremely fond of them myself. Toss in the irreverent humour of Mel Brooks, and we may just have a winner!
The Producers (the 2005 version, I've never seen the 60's original, so I can't do the big "comparison review" for you, sorry!) is the tale of Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) and Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick), respectively a fading Broadway producer and disenfranchised accountant. Both are unhappy with how their lives are going. Max's latest play, a musical version of Hamlet, has just crashed after one night, and Leo's been assigned by his tyrannical firm to go over the books for the flop. What Leo discovers, however, is that Max has actually made a small profit, raising $100,000 to produce a $98,000 show. He muses aloud that, done correctly, it might be possible to actually make more money on a terrible show than a good one. Max, who's basically a shark in a cheap suit, seizes on the idea, and commissions Leo to help him produce the worst show in history while raising as much capital as possible, then fleeing to Rio with the proceeds.
The hook of the show is the fact that, in a generic 50's setting, the worst possible show they could produce is a little number by the name of "Springtime for Hitler", a musical written by Nazi apologist Franz Liebkind (a to-the-hilt Will Ferrell). Complicate the issues with a gorgeous blond bombshell getting between the two partners (Uma Thurman as Ulla), and off you go! The problem is that instead of a flop, Springtime turns out to be a smash hit, and Max and Leo suddenly find themselves up to their necks in unwanted success and financial attention when the plan backfires.
I'll get my nits out of the way first. First off, this is a movie adapted from a stage production that was in turn adapted from a forty year old movie. This has its ups and downs, but the biggest thing you need to know is that it wears its musical and stage influences on its sleeve. For me, this is a plus, because (as I already mentioned) musicals are wonderful in my eyes. But for the uninitiated, it could grate. The actors are almost all veterans of the stage production (the exceptions are Ferrell and Thurman), and they play it that way. So it's very over the top and might seem more expressive and physical than it needs to be if you're not used to that kind of thing.
The other thing is Nathan Lane. He presents such a weird paradox here. Lane is absolutely perfect for the role of Max, all manic expressions and over the top mugging, which works well for the role. But for stretches of time, he just does his own thing. He mugs and yells and wheezes for the camera. If you like Nathan Lane, you'll survive just fine, but if not, you'll turn this movie off a long way before the end credits.
But the cast is pretty much a smash hit. Broderick and Lane have great chemistry (even if Ferris affects kind of a weird voice for the character of Bloom), and Uma Thurman just (here's the Broadway in me coming out) sizzles as Ulla. I've never seen her look hotter or look like she's more enjoying a role. And Will Ferrell as Franz was an inspired choice… he's absolutely over the top in his stormtrooper helmet and lederhosen as the Nazi poster boy. It might be my favourite thing I've ever seen him do.
And if you like your musical numbers long, bright, and satirical, this will definitely be your bag. From the excessively lavish Broadway lights-laden "I Want to be a Producer" to the unbelievably tasteless "Springtime for Hitler" show number, every song is catchy, fun, and dripping with Mel Brooks' trademark satire. Think Chicago, but with a fun mean streak. Brooks wrote some really risqué stuff into this one, poking fun at not just the Nazis, but also Sweden, gay people, and a whole host of other folks. Take it with a grain of salt.
All in all, I couldn't stop grinning and laughing through The Producers, even while the fine people I watched it with "got it" to varying degrees. It's very high quality for what it is, but what it is might not be for everyone. Check it out, and then you can come over to my house and practice Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop. I'll bring the Cheesies.
 Her name is Ulla, and they didn't make a single "Ooh la la" joke?
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- Blink n' you'll miss it cameos by original creator Mel Brooks (well, technically, you can pick out his cameos with your eyes closed…) and Mike McKean.
- Nazi pigeons!
- Uma, Ulla. Ulla, Uma.
- All the spoof Broadway titles at the end, including Katz and Death of a Salesman on Ice.
- Austin Powers flashbacks when Ferrell breaks his leg offscreen.
- Is that… is that the Village People?
- The matching outfits on Ulla and Leo in the courtroom.
- Swastika dancing!
Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?
Dancing girls wriggle all over the end credits, followed by Brooks-style credits with the actors faces, followed by a cheesy revamp of the Hop Clop, followed by Franz Liebkind encouraging you to go buy a copy of Mein Kampf from a variety of booksellers, followed by a cast ensemble singing a number called Goodbye, featuring Mel Brooks. So I'd say so!
Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]
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The part of Ulla was originally going to go to Nicole Kidman, who was working with Matthew Broderick on The Stepford Wives. She said yes (script unseen), but had to back out due to scheduling conflicts.
Audience members during the Springtime show are not extras, they are people who donated to charity and received a chance to appear in the movie in return.
Obviously, they had a great time shooting this movie. If you don't think so, check out the Outtakes on the DVD. It's basically a nonstop reel of Nathan Lane laughing his head off.
Groovy Quotes
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Leo Bloom [to Ulla]: We might have a position for you.
Max Bialystock: As a matter of fact, we might have several positions for you.
Max Bialystock: We got the wrong play, the wrong director, the wrong cast. Where did we go right?
Leo Bloom: So what time can you get here?
Ulla: Well, Ulla wake up every morning at five AM. From five to seven, Ulla excercise. From seven to eight Ulla take long shower. From eight to nine Ulla eat big Swedish breakfast. Many different herrings. From nine to eleven, Ulla practice her singing und her dancing. And at eleven, Ulla like to have sex. So, what time should Ulla get here?
Leo and Max [together]: ...Eleven.
Ulla: Good! Ulla will come at eleven!
Max Bialystock: [holding his head in his hands] Ulla will come at eleven...
Roger De Bris: Quick darling, back in the closet!
Franz Liebkind: Stand still! How can I shoot you if you keep moving!
Roger De Bris: This crazy Kraut is crackers! He crashed in here and crassly tried to kill us!
Carmen Ghia: Oh, Roger, what alliteration
Roger De Bris: Thank you, darling.
Hold-Me Touch-Me: I made it out just like you told me to: To the title of the play. "Cash". It's a funny sort of name for a play, "Cash"...
Max Bialystock: So is "The Iceman Cometh"
Leo Bloom: Today I have taken the Siegfried Oath, and danced with a sailor, police man and very friendly Cherokee Indian.
Ulla: [sung] Violinists love to play an E-string, but audiences really love a G-string!
Franz Liebkind: The Fuhrer wasn't a mousy little mama's boy! The Fuhrer was BUTCH!
Leo Bloom: I'm very sorry I caught you feeling up the old lady.
Max Bialystock: "Feeling up the old lady." Thank you Mr Tact.
Carmen Ghia: And so the rule is, when mounting a... play. Keep it gay, keep it gay, keep it gay.
Max Bialystock: [to Ulla] Even though we're sitting down, Mr Bloom and I are giving you a standing ovation.
Franz Liebkind: I was never a member of the Nazi Party! I only followed orders. I had nothing to do with the war! I didn't even know there was a war on. We lived in the back, right across from Switzerland. All we heard was yodelling... yoodle le he hoo!
Ulla: My name is Ulla Inka Hanson Benson Yanson Tallen Hallen Swadon Swanson.
Max Bialystock: What is your first name?
Ulla: Oh that was my first name. Would you like to hear my last name?
Max Bialystock: We don't have the time.
Franz Liebkind: Broadway! I haven't been so happy since we crushed Poland!
Franz Liebkind: This is no good. I'm not killing anybody.
Franz Liebkind: You know, not many people know zis, but der Fuhrer was a terrific dancer.
Max Bialystock: Really? Gee, we didn't know that, did we, Leo?
Leo Bloom: No, we sure didn't.
Franz Liebkind: THAT'S BECAUSE YOU WERE TAKEN IN BY THE BBC! Filthy British lies! But did they ever say a bad word about Winston Churchill? CHURCHILL! [gags] With his cigars, and his brandy, and his ROTTEN paintings! ROTTEN! Hitler, there was a painter! He could paint an entire apartment in one afternoon! Two coats!
Max Bialystock: [about Franz's hop-clop] It's sort of a Nazi Hoedown!
Max Bialystock: The two cardinal rules of producing. One: Never put your own money in the show.
Leo Bloom: And two?
Max Bialystock: [yelling right in his ear] NEVER PUT YOUR OWN MONEY IN THE SHOW!
Roger De Bris: You mean that smell is you? Oh GOD. If I could bottle you, I'd shove you under my armpits every day.
[preparing to perform "The Guten Tag Hop-Clop"]
Franz Liebkind: First, you must roll up your pants.
Max Bialystock: Okay.
[He and Leo begin to roll up their pant legs]
Franz Liebkind: Rolling?
Max Bialystock: Rolling.
Franz Liebkind: Rolling?
Max Bialystock: Rolling.
Franz Liebkind: Come on, don't be stingy! Show some LEG!
DVD Review
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Lots of fun. The Outtakes show a lot of the good times that apparently went on making the movie (most of them involving Nathan Lane breathless with laughter). The analysis of the I Want to be a Producer scene is really interesting if you have an eye for filmmaking, theater, or (preferably) both!
Soundtrack Review
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Priceless. If you like the musicals and you like Mel Brooks, this is a sure fire hit.
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This review page was last updated on 8.2.06
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