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The Producers (2005)
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Reviews Counted:148
Fresh:75
Rotten:73
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: Despite the rich source material, The Producers has a stale, stagy feel more suited to the theater than the big screen.
Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Dec 16, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $19,151,907
Synopsis: This remake of Mel Brooks' 1968 film features Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in the roles that they originated in the smash Broadway adaptation of the original film. Broadway producer Max... This remake of Mel Brooks' 1968 film features Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in the roles that they originated in the smash Broadway adaptation of the original film. Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Lane) is famous for his spectacular opening night flops. Leopold Bloom (Broderick) is an uptight accountant who virtually discovers gold while reviewing Max's books. When Leo realizes that you can actually make more money with a flop than with a hit, the two team up and begin a search for both the worst script and the worst director they can find to ensure failure. The script selection seems easy when the duo stumble upon SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER, an homage to the Fuhrer penned by Franz Liebkind (Will Ferrell), a German sympathetic to the Nazi cause. Convinced that the script will incite outrage, the duo needs a bad director to seal the deal. Campy director Roger DeBris (Gary Beach) and his assistant (Roger Bart) fit the bill perfectly. But when their scheme fails, Max and Leo find themselves with the worst possible outcome: a hit. To make matters worse, Franz is just a little peeved that Hitler was depicted disrespectfully--and he has a gun. Will Max and Leo survive the playwright's wrath? Will they go to jail for cooking the books? And will Leo ever submit to the advances of sexy Swedish receptionist/actress Ulla (Uma Thurman)? Directed by stage director Susan Stroman, making her feature film directorial debut, this riotous romp features lots of laughs from the major players, as well as brief appearances by Jon Lovitz, Michael McKean, and Richard Kind. Lane and Broderick make it easy to understand why the show was an unprecedented hit on Broadway, and Ferrell is a scene-stealer as Liebkind. [More]
Starring: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Will Ferrell
Starring: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Will Ferrell, Andrea Martin, Gary Beach, Roger Bart
Director: Susan Stroman
Director: Susan Stroman
Studio: Universal Pictures
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Reviews for The Producers
Uma Thurman as a would-be actress is the one bit of genuine radiance in this aggressively and pointlessly shiny, noisy spectacle.
The original was far funnier and somehow managed to cut to the chase with less of a song and dance.
[T]he most recent Producers is a clone of a clone, and what it adds in song and dance it loses in brevity and, as is so often the case, wit.
Ladies and gentlemen, for your enjoyment we present... Diminishing Returns: The Musical!
If you're new to this crazy Mel Brooks creation, this 2005 cinematic torture chamber is the last way anyone should experience it for the first time.
... to have seen either the original movie, or Lane and Broderick on Broadway (I saw both) is to be reminded what a lamentable knockoff this is.
You could think of The Producers as a way to see most of the Broadway cast for 1/12 the price of a Broadway ticket. Or you could think of it as a bad idea at any price.
There's a song in the stage musical version of 'The Producers' that, if you flipped the title to pose the opposite question, could summarize the letdown diehard fans will feel if they catch the new movie of Mel Brooks' gloriously retro Broadway smash.
a series of pathetic attempts to give stars Lane and Broderick more opportunities to mug for the camera in tepid and unnecessary song and dance numbers
No one can be wholly ruined in a big fat sardonic musical, a form demanding grandeur, gaucheness, and above all, giddy delights. Unfortunately, this movie musical rather forgets the movie part.
At least it's not as horrid as something Bialystock and Bloom themselves might create.
The stage performances haven't been scaled down: Everything is pitched to the second balcony. And Mel Brooks' material -- especially the retro queeny stereotypes -- is excruciatingly dated.
Bad taste can sometimes be fun (check out the Warhol films), but when it's not it turns out to be just plain irritating like this version of The Producers.
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