The Producers

The Producers is the big screen adaptation of the successful Broadway musical based on the 1968 movie of the same name. Though there are significant performances by Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick and the supporting cast is a riot the film is not all that it could be due to stunted directing and unimaginative cinematography which gives the film a lethargy that its witty dialogue cannot overcome. The Producers is a wildly funny film with some very good musical numbers but the drawn out scenes, the single camera style, and the lack of even the most basic cinematographic tricks are distracting from the story. Because of this, the film is a lark but it is not a memorable movie musical.

The progress of this production to film sounds confusing but it boils down to this: In 1968 Mel Brooks wrote and directed a zany movie about a down and out Broadway producer and an uptight accountant who aim to make quick money by putting on a can’t miss flop. The original film starred Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder and was a wildly funny ride. The film then became a Broadway musical in 2000 with songs written by Mel Brooks. The Broadway show starred Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in the lead roles of Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom and played to sold out audiences in New York where it is still going strong with a new cast. This film brings the show back around to film for all of those unable to get to New York to see Lane and Broderick ham it up.

Nathan Lane plays Broadway producer Max Bialystock who once had a string of hits but lately produces hideous awful plays that close the day they open and feature such cringe worthy material as a singing comedy of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Max seduces little old ladies for the money to finance his plays and is generally as disreputable a character as they come. Into his life comes the meek and obsessive accountant Leo Bloom, Matthew Broderick, whose offhanded comment that an unscrupulous producer and a creative accountant could make more money with a flop than with a hit sets Max’s mind churning with a scheme to make quick money. The two partner up and agree to find the worst play and produce it on Broadway with the worst cast and the worst director, a guaranteed flop that will make them millions.

Now the pairing of Lane and Broderick was a stroke of genius by the original casting director and is probably the best thing to happen to either actors’ career. The two were such a hit in The Producers that they are now working together again in Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple on Broadway. The two actors play off of each other to the benefit of both, in this case the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Broderick soothes the manic often over-the-top performances of Lane to a controlled zaniness. On the flip side, Lane is able to amp up the energy in Broderick’s often restrained and mild performances. Their Bialystock and Bloom really do need each other and their general regard for each other is apparent in their interactions on the screen. In addition, these two know this material front to back and yet they still enjoy doing this performance for the cameras. Though they have performed countless times as these characters they still bring their full energies and talents to bear in the film retelling.

There are a few new faces that weren’t there for the play but they are welcome additions. Will Ferrell practically throws himself into the role of Franz Liebkin the former Nazi screenwriter and star of the little gem ‘Springtime For Hitler’ that Bialystock and Bloom select for their unqualified disaster. Ferrell shines in his scenes as a Germanic man-child that plays beautifully to the actor’s strengths. Uma Thurman also shines in her role as the ditsy Swedish eye candy Ulla. Though for the most part her role consists of a silly accent and looking beautiful, Thurman plays the part well towering over her costars, except for Ferrell, and reducing the gentlemen to quivering masses of jelly.

In addition to Lane and Broderick there are a number of transplants from the Broadway production. Gary Beach and Roger Bart reprise their roles as Roger De Bris and Carmen Ghia the flamingly homosexual director and his common law assistant. They know the material front and back and deliver pitch perfect performances with energy and wit. Also carried over from the play is director Susan Stroman and it is here that the film’s magic breaks down.

It was about 15 minutes into the film before I realized what the problem was as I leaned to my companion and whispered ‘there are no close-ups’. There are also no quick cuts, few multiple angle shots, and no reaction shots. Here is a film where as everything is presented head on from a distance. It is exactly like watching a play on the screen. There is zero imagination in the directing and the cinematography as it pertains to film. It is rather a shame since in general the sets are interesting and deserve a second look. For instance, when Leo is back at the accounting firm dreaming about his big Broadway number with a bunch of scantily clad Rockettes they march down lighted stairs, but there are no shots from the side or reaction shots, everything is straight forward and delivered to the camera. There are a few outdoor shots in Central Park and in Rio, but even these are limited and don’t serve to break out of the tiny boxed in feeling of the film. In general every set feels like a small enclosed stage set because it is shot as a small stage set, there is no movement or flow to break up the space. Each scene is done as extended single camera shots with the actors mugging it up in the middle of the shot.

Now artistic camera activity for the sake of artistry had its place in films like Easy Rider and 2001: A Space Odyssey when these things were new and fresh, but it has gotten extremely tedious of late. While every film doesn’t have to use split screens and strange fades ala The Hulk there is a certain level of cinematographic sophistication that today’s film audiences expect from their films. When it is absent moviegoers notice the hand of the cinematographer as much as they do in overwrought artistic sequences. Audiences expect close-ups of the fabulously beautiful actors who are overpaid for their work. They also expect to see things from multiple angles in a way that is impossible to a human. Without multiple angles and multiple cuts scenes are tedious and audiences get bored. Such is the fate of The Producers regardless of the quality of the material.

The net result of all of this is that The Producers is an enjoyable film. It is a matinee of a Broadway classic for the discount price of one film ticket. The problem is that with such a great script and so much talented acting a classic film was in the making but got lost along the way. Instead of a light laughter filled trek to the finish the film slogs along to its conclusion. From a film and a concept that are so imaginative comes a film which lacks all imagination in its presentation. The musical The Producers makes for a great play but in this case it makes for only a mildly entertaining film.