Underproduced Producers

Rating: 6/10 (16 June 2009)

All of Brooks' movies are basically one joke. The joke in this first film was arguably his best one to date: no wonder it got adapted and then remade. Unfortunately the execution here is often subpar. It isn't like an early Woody Allen, where the bad jokes just fly by with the good. It's slow-moving schtick, and it's often overplayed as if the actors weren't even sure what kind of shot they were supposed to be in. There are some flat spots and an a-w-f-u-l lot of setup before the heart of the joke, the play itself. After staging this hilarious topper (and it's even cleverer than you expect) there's not much for Brooks to do except try to find an even funnier way to get out of the movie, which he doesn't quite do. A few scenes, like the one with the secretary, also run on and on long after you've got the joke. Was this because the newcomer deferred too much to his actors, especially Mostel? Brooks' later films are cut faster and are often funnier. But overall this was still a pretty impressive debut and worth seeing once. Hewitt and Voutsinas were funny, I didn't care as much for Mars though I don't see how else the part could have been played. Mostel is all over the place. Wilder's underplaying saves the day.