"The Producers" - Laughing at Nazis
Category: Movies...
Posted Saturday, December 31, 2005 at 09:30 PM [GMT-6]

The 2005 incarnation of The Producers is 46 minutes -- almost 50% -- longer than the original version, released in 1968. Coincidentally, that's about the amount of time it took me to decide that our journey to Odessa (it's not showing in Midland) wasn't wasted.

If you like Mel Brooks's movies and sense of humor, you'll like The Producers. Even if you don't, there's a good chance you'll still be entertained by the acting of folks like Nathan Lane, Will Ferrell (the movie started to get some life when Ferrell finally appeared) and Gary Beach (who appears in his first movie since 1999, but who won a Tony award in 2001 for the same part in the Broadway adaptation of the movie). But Mel's fingerprints are all over this movie -- the pacing, the double entendres, even the song lyrics will seem familiar and comfortable to anyone who's seen Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein.

The movie's a bit of cotton candy, not meant to be taken seriously. As such, I don't want to attempt to imbue it with too much social significance. However, as I watched some expert lampooning of Adolph Hitler and his Nazi movement, I couldn't help thinking that Brooks's genius extends beyond the ability to make people laugh; he's able to use comedy to deflate the ambition and self-importance of those who embrace the perverted philosophy espoused by Hitler. If we as a society can routinely find symbols like the swastika foolish and laughable, perhaps we can deflate their "value" more effectively than the most self-righteous politically-correct outrage. But, like I said, I doubt that the movie has such heady aspirations.

Did we enjoy it? Yeah, overall. It's a "mature" comedy, not really suitable for family viewing despite a comment to the contrary on IMDB.com. Take the PG-13 rating literally. It relies on sight gags and slapstick...not a lot of subtlety. And if you're offended by outrageously flamingly gay characters, you'll want to skip this one completely (some of the most hilariously tasteless scenes involve those characters). And if you do see it, be sure to stay through all the credits, for two reasons. One is Will Ferrel's "moving" rendition of one of the songs in the movie; the other is...well, I won't spoil it for you.

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Comments

I'll have to go take a look when it comes out here!

Posted by: Rachel at December 31, 2005 11:59 PM

I agree, if it's anything like the play, you might want to highly screen which of your children, if any, attend. We went to see this play at the Kennedy Center in DC and though there were the gay parts (and other parts) where we wanted to cover our then 16 year old's eyes, we thoroughly enjoyed it. I saw Nathan Lane on the Today show discussing the movie. He was talking about how the comedic timing and delivery of jokes was harder to capture in the movie than in the play, where the actors can play more off the reaction of the audience. Sounds like, from your review, the actors still were able to pull it off the correct timing!

We'll go check it out. Thanks!

Posted by: Janie at January 3, 2006 06:19 PM

Janie, Nathan Lane is perhaps the closest thing we have to a classic comic genius. He's also at times a dead ringer for Lou Costello, at least in mannerism and voice.

The humor in the movie (and in the play, of course) is occasionally on the raunchy side (if junior high humor can really be termed "raunchy") but it's not as offensive as 99% of what appears in more modern screenplays. You get the sense it's being played for fun and not to shock or offend.

Posted by: Eric at January 3, 2006 09:39 PM
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