Fans of those movies will appreciate the gesture, but this film isn't likely to make any new converts.
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
... an unabashedly old-fashioned musical filled with song, dance, and shtick so shticky you could hang wallpaper with it.
... the film version is often more boisterous and brassy than a movie ought to be.
The jokes are in its tackiness, and gauchery, and raspberry-inducing send-up of Broadway traditions. On that level, the movie works fine -- and is a whole lot cheaper for the ticket buyer.
Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick and Gary Beach have their singing, dancing and kvetching in the Broadway smash The Producers immortalized on film.
The material and the performers are strong enough to put it over. But there's no mistaking the final product for a good movie.
Zero Mostel, and Gene Wilder may have set the standard in the original film, but Lane and Broderick have produced something worth applauding.
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.
If it's subtlety you're after, go see another movie. But if you just want to laugh, make a date with The Producers.
There are bad movies, there are terrible, misguided mistakes and there are unbearable and embarrassing ordeals. The Producers: The Movie Musical is all of those.
On film, Lane and Broderick are stuck in manic overdrive, like a couple of guys who have been assigned the impossible task of reviving vaudeville.
[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.
Susan Stroman, who directed and choreographed the Broadway show, has shot the movie as if it were the show ...
You're a lot better off going into The Producers as a musical-theater buff than as a film buff.
The 'zany' performances are like a well-oiled machine, and, consequently, much of the movie comes across as mechanical.
enjoyable, even though Stroman's lack of experience behind the camera is sometimes glaringly evident. ...be aware that the show continues even after the credits roll...
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