Movie Review: The Producers (2005)
Rate This Article
What Parents Should Know
Parents should know that the film includes broad physical
and what might be termed "vaudevillian" humor: ethnic, gay, and
sex jokes, with language that might need explanation for
younger viewers ("I shall take your virginity!" "You had to
schtupp every little old lady in New York..."). The film also
makes fun of a neurotic man's blanket fixation, Nazis/Hitler,
prison, accountants, and actors ("Kill all ze actors!"). Since
the movie is a satire, only kids old enough to recognize the
movie's tongue in cheek references should see it.
Families can discuss the nature of satire. How does the movie make humor out of crooks, Nazis and sex with old ladies? How can it get away with jokes based on homosexual and heterosexual stereotyping?
Common Sense Media Review
Broad and blustery, the film version of Mel Brooks' musical,
THE PRODUCERS (not to be confused with the non-musical film on
which the musical is based) is too long and too strained to be
much fun. As most everyone knows, the book involves boys
conniving and prancing and girls wearing sequins.
It begins and ends with an odd couple, cynical Broadway producer/old ladies lothario Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) and accountant/aspiring producer Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick) in conjuring a surefire plan for profits: they will produce the worst show ever, collect lots of financing, and close it opening night.
Written by and starring Franz Liebkind (Will Ferrell), "Springtime for Hitler" means to set the record straight on Der Führer. Or maybe not quite. When Liebkind breaks a leg on opening night, flaming director Roger De Bris (Gary Beach) steps in, and the show's a stupendous hit and the producers are ruined.
It's a big fat sardonic musical, after all, which demands grandeur, gaucheness, and above all, giddy delights. Director/choreographer Susan Stroman's Producers delivers these elements in seeming bulk , with gigantic gestures and broad blocking left over from the stage production. Among these elements is the characterization of Ulla (Uma Thurman), Leo and Max's secretary and "Springtime" female lead. Her song and dance numbers, including "When You Got It, Flaunt It," showcase her perfect, tightly-clothed figure and expansive "Swedish" accent, but not much else.
The most romantic moment in the film, in fact, is Leo's testimony at Max's trial. This love ballad reveals Broderick's lovely voice and serves a useful plot purpose (using the term "plot" loosely), as it sets the ground for the closing scene in prison. Here the boys are putting on another scam show, now having found their ideal milieu, not to mention a captive audience with terrible taste in set design. It's almost too bad that they are pardoned, for bringing "joy and laughter into the hearts of every murderer, rapist, and sex maniac in Sing Sing." That's something.
Families who like this film will also like the non-singing 1968 original, starring Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. You might also check Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974) or Rob Marshall's 2002 musical, Chicago.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
