An amusing gem that works despite not being hilarious

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2005)

I'm not a fan of Mel Brooks. At all. For a comedy director, I find him painfully unfunny and therefore very difficult to like. The Producers is often cited to be Brooks' best film, and for good reason; as it is. Although it never reaches the realms of hilarity, and quite a few of the gags aren't funny in the slightest, it's a breezy little comedy that's based around an amusing idea and is hard to dislike on the whole. The idea is that a Broadway producer can, in theory, make more money from a flop than he could from a hit. When accountant Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) suggests that this could be the case, a plan forms in the mind of once great producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel), and we're on course for an amusing ride as the two set out to find the worst play ever written (a drama called "Springtime for Hitler" eventually wins out), and pull out all the stops to ensure it's a sure-fire Broadway flop!
Through a stark colour scheme and overacting from all concerned, Mel Brooks succeeds in creating a distinct comic-book style that lends the film a very comedic, and fun, edge that few films have succeeded in capturing adequately since. The cast helps this film enormously, with everyone giving hammy performances that help in creating the film's sense of fun. Brooks regular Gene Wilder is, of course, the star of the show despite not being the absolute central character. His performance is more subdued than Mostel's, but still very over the top. The play itself features a very tasteless, yet very amusing and catchy opening song that will no doubt be swirling around your head for days afterwards. The play itself is actually the funniest thing about the film, with most of the hilarity coming from the monumental miscasting of an Elvis impersonator-esquire character calling himself 'L.S.D.' (Dick Shawn) in the role of the fuhrer himself.
Overall, this is a very fun film. The sense of fun is carried throughout, even if the jokes don't always work. I can almost guarantee a good time from watching this movie and it's one that fans of this sort of film shouldn't go without seeing.