The Producers

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Cast & Crew

Nathan Lane
Max Bialystock

Matthew Broderick
Leo Bloom

Uma Thurman
Ulla

Will Ferrell
Franz Liebkind

Gary Beach
Roger De Bris

Roger Bart
Carmen Ghia

Eileen Essell
Hold Me-Touch Me

David Huddleston
Judge

Michael McKean
Prison Trustee

Debra Monk
Lick Me-Bite Me

Susan Stroman
Director

Mel Brooks
Writer (Play)

Thomas Meehan
Writer (Play)

Mel Brooks
Screenwriter

Thomas Meehan
Screenwriter

Mel Brooks
Producer

Jonathan Sanger
Producer

Mel Brooks
Original Music

John Bailey
Cinematographer

Mark Friedberg
Production Design

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Critic Reviews for The Producers

Audience Reviews for The Producers

• Feb 24, 2012

  Despite the pairing of the original Broadway duo, Broderick and Lane, the movie feels a little flat. I imagine that it was probably quite entertaining on screen but Stroman fails to use the different medium for better impact.
  

  John B Super Reviewer
• Dec 14, 2011

  Clearly choreographic movements made it stagy but great singing and excellent adaptation.
  

  Sylvester K Super Reviewer
• Dec 13, 2011

  A Broadway producer and his accountant team up to make a flop as part of a get-rich-quick scheme ... set to music. All the problems - the over-acting, the kitsch - that plagued the original production are on full display here, and added to those is some really bad music. I highly doubt that the discerning viewer will be singing "Unhappy" and "We Can Do It" in the shower the next day, even though some of the original music is kinda catchy. There are moments when it seems like Matthew Broderick is doing a Gene Wilder impersonation, but I was impressed by his voice; I knew he was on Broadway and could sing, but he's much better than an actor who can act through a song. He's actually got some pipes. I also liked the changes in the third act, which give the story a more cohesive structure. Overall, this is a poor effort, a film that should not have been made.
  Jim H Super Reviewer
• Jul 31, 2011

  Hmmmmmm so very very tricky to decide here, what can I say...I enjoyed this as a stand alone film on its own, and when not compared to the original. As a stand alone farce its a great piece of comedy but of course it so difficult not to think and look back to the original material. To be honest this is a classic example of a remake that, in terms of the movie, didn't succeed in doing anything other than show you should never try to remake a classic. Of course because of the flick there was a big renewed interest in the forgotten classic and a very popular theatre show, which is all good as its perfect for the theatre in every sense but the actual film is a poor imitation. There are certain parts in this film I loved, mainly anything to do with Nathan Lane who is a superb comedic actor with fantastic skills in facial and physical comedy. Some of his leers and chubby prat falls are brilliant and really compete with Mostel's first performance. On the other hand there are some truly awful moments of...plagiarism basically where the same funny line or sequence has been attempted from the original and it just bombs hard. Some scenes simply cannot be replicated from the genius of Wilder and Mostel. A huge issue with me was the casting of Broderick who is so so so so weak an actor I just don't understand how he gets work. Is it all simply down to 'Ferris Bueller'!!?. Terrible actor and he really shows it here with a dreadful performance that lets the whole film down badly. Sure he can sing a little, move well and he does look the part but he just isn't a strong enough character for comedy, he's too shy and reserved and a bad partner to Lanes terrific greasy comb over sleaze. To be honest some of the casting is poor in this film accept for Lane, Beach and Bart all of which were inspired choices. Thurman and Ferrell were totally out of place and show why it can be a bad decision to cast big names when lesser known folk would work so much better. Also Lovitz could of been used in a better role instead of the extra unnecessary sequence he was in. Where was Dom Deluise that's what I wanna know, the perfect film for him. The film looks fantastic I gotta say, well it basically looks like a stage performance that's just been filmed really. Not a bad thing as the colour and razzle dazzle is all very well directed and comes up peachy on your screen. Lots of musical numbers and extra padding to fill out the length which is again nice but also loses some of the originals charm. The old adage of less is more and this new film really does go overboard when it didn't have to. Obviously the film was meant to be a precursor to the real theatre production (a prequel of sorts to see how it would fare) which is fine but I don't know why they went down the musical route with the film instead of sticking to the better farcical comedic angle. I just felt a lot of the source materials essence was lost trying to craft the film into something else when they still could of done the theatre show and kept this film like the original. Last thoughts are positive for the film as its nice to see musicals back on the big screen looking as lush as this but as a remake its nowhere near as good as its forebearer. Quite a poor copy in places but it does have its highlights which can make you forgive. If your seeing this for the first time then I strongly recommend the original first of course.
  Phil H Super Reviewer

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