Great idea with a poor follow through

Rating: 3/10 (9 June 2004)

I first heard of The Producers from its newer broadway musical version. The basic idea of the film is indeed brilliant. A show producer is a total flop when trying to pick a hit, so he and his accountant hatch the idea of making money the Enron way, through creating a big fraud. Brilliant! Unfortunately, the movie version suffers from about 50% too much film that was used seemingly to fill the gaps between the well written and funny parts. Those who have heard of the musical and are anxious to see/hear more of the wonderful music will be let down because the actual Springtime for Hitler play is but a brief part of this movie version.
My advice: cross your fingers and wait for the 2005 remake!