Has some very funny and tasteless moments but is mostly just an amusing piece of ham

Rating: Null/10 (4 January 2005)

With his business basically in the toilet after yet another flop, producer Max Bialystock has taken to extorting old women for small cheques. A visit by accountant Leo Bloom and an off hand remark about insurance puts a plan in Max's mind. With Leo he plans to gather a large amount of investment to produce a play that will be a sure fire flop and claim the insurance money when it closes on the first night; the only risk being that, if it makes money, then they will be in debt to all their investors and be charged with fraud. To make totally sure of a flop they decide on the most tasteless film they can possibly find, the worst director and the most unsuitable cast and, thou, the curtain is soon raising on "Springtime for Hitler", a musical about the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany.
With the play making headlines recently for big name starts dropping out of the London production (despite a great reception) I decided to rewatch the film again. As with my other viewings, I found the film to be consistently amusing with a handful of great moments but generally unworthy of the high regard that many seem to hold it in. The plot is a great concept and it produces the high point of the film with the wonderfully tasteless title song of the show, but too much of the humour is rather broad  and not in the way of Brooks' better spoofs but rather broad as in being generally amusing. The script lacks a real sharp edge to it and I didn't find myself laughing that many times even if I did find it to be consistently pretty enjoyable stuff.
The cast are a big reason that it keeps this tone going, in particular the lead two, who ham it up for all they are worth in performances that suit the material even if it isn't their best work. Mostel plays it up well and a good chemistry with Wilder who overdoes it in a quieter way. Support is good from Mars, Shawn, Hewett and Hickey. As with the material, they are all very broad and enjoyable without ever really being great.
Overall this is a funny film but not to the degree that some viewers may expect as a result of the high regard it is held in. All those involved have made better films and I found it to be rather broad as both comedy and satire and didn't excel as either. Despite this, the highs compensate for the odd moment where it falls flat and generally the film is a fun and enjoyable 90 minutes.