The Producers (2005)

Nothing is more arrogant than a film that assumes it's going to be a hit before it even goes into production. Such a disaster is this musical remake of "The Producers." Stagebound, presentational instead of reactive, and more leaden than an Iron Cross, it betrays everything about the 1968 classic -- not to mention raising questions how anything this klunky could ever work, must less be a hit, on the Broadway stage. Reportedly, Mel Brooks was distracted during filming by his wife's illness and death, and that director Susan Stroman didn't have the clout to override his in absentia presence. Never mind that the new third act ending betrays the first two. Never mind that Lane and Broderick never develop the father-son relationship that Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder did, and which drove the story. Never mind that the musical numbers are not only forgettable, but extraneous. Never mind that the 11 o'clock number is over by 10:59. Never mind that Nathan Lane is made up to look like a Hirschfeld drawing. Never mind that Matthew Broderick is a human marshmallow. Mever mind that Uma Thurman sucks the energy out of movies that she's not even in. Never mind that -- oh, never mind. Like a dumb horror movie where the girl heads up to the attic and you know the monster's there waiting for her but she goes up anyway, "The Producers" is its own train wreck, devoid of any sense of self-awareness, let alone the major one: that it needs an audience.

Fmovies: This is one of the few films I have tossed in the trash after I finished watching it.

If you like over-acting, flamboyance, Broadway on the silver screen, and people trying hard to be funny, but coming off as obnoxious, desperate, and overall plain stupid, then you will like this.

I honestly do not see what humor people are finding in this, and it's not that I don't get it. I loved Broderick in Ferris Bueller's Day off, that's a classic, but he is excruciating to watch in this.

Between the cross-dressing, ridiculous costumes, terrible over-the-top acting, horrible singing, and terrible songs, I found this film incredibly offensive and a complete waste of time.

I honestly would put this in the bottom 10 films I've ever seen in my life, and that's not an easy task to pull off.

My father adored the original Zero Mostel/Gene Wilder version of The Producers, he used to watch it regularly when I was growing up and that rubbed off on me. When I first saw Mel Brooks 'The Producers' I thought it was a stage play adapted into a movie not the other way round that it became. While I never saw the Broadway revival of 'The Producers' I did 'try' to watch the 2005 version of the 'Producers' on DVD. If you have never seen the original 1968 version and have only seen the 2005 version then of course the 2005 version is going to be funny. If you have seen the original, then you notice just how little effort the actors made other than giving pale imitation of the Zero Mostel/Gene Wilder blue print that makes the 2005 version look like an overacted summer pantomime. I could only go 15 minutes before turning it off in disgust.

The Producers fmovies. If i could give it an 11 out of a possible 10 I would give it that... the entire production was wonderful.. i would watch it again...and that is something i do only with very few movies. Nathan Lane steals the show with his wonderful performance. The performance by the actor portraying the gay director is a model of what a supporting actor should be.

The scene showing the actual production of the play was a masterpiece and only Mel Brooks could do it justice.

Uma Thurman gives a stellar performance and almost steals the show.

I can not say enough good things about this movie.

The 1968 version of "The Producers" with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder was hilarious. It was one of the all-time funniest comedies to hit the big screen. The 2005 version, however, is gratingly awful. The idea to set this comedy to a musical format was obviously very successful on Broadway. It certainly failed to transition to film. All of the songs seemed annoyingly unoriginal; as if someone put dumb rhymes and monotonous tunes together. Each song was painful to watch and hear and they were all completely forgettable. Matthew Broaderick, in the opening sequences, did a pretty good impersonation of Gene Wilder - line for line, that is. Remakes should show a little more originality and, anyway, Gene Wilder he's not. The same can be said for Nathan Lane - a pretty good impression of Zero Mostel - as if these actors viewed the tape of this movie a hundred times until they got it down. Big deal. Will Ferrell was atrocious as the crazed Nazi. It was as if he did a workshop on overacting. He was more over the top than Dolly Parton in a turtleneck. Uma Thurmon's character was unnecessary and should have been left out. The happy ending lacked the humor of the original. The whole movie seemed like a loud, amateurish wreck. Even the joke Lane made towards the end about someone else's life flashing before his eyes was stolen from an old Woody Allen joke. El Stinkeroo.

First, there was Mel Brooks' clever movie "The Producers." That got adapted into a Tony-winning stage musical. Then the musical became adapted into a movie. This hilarious spectacle is sure to please! Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick return as Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, the same roles they made famous on Broadway. Lane is a riot, channeling Zero Mostel's bombastic character. Meanwhile, Broderick surprises as he does a decent take on Gene Wilder's original hysterical act. Will Ferrell scores laughs as Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind, and Uma Thurman puts in a good song and dance as Swedish sexpot Ulla. The movie perfectly catches the style of the old-fashioned musical, with a large serving of slapstick. This snappy production is sure to be a hit with everyone!