Product: Funny Girl [VHS] (1968)
Rating: 4.0
Flawed Biopic
Fanny Brice was one of the most impressive stage talents of Broadway's heyday in the 1920s when theater attendance was unusually high and when cultural diversity brought all sorts of new things into the public eye. Brice was a Jewish woman who landed herself on the Ziegfeld stage, a show that was famous for heralding beautiful women in showy costumes. Brice was no great beauty, but she was a wonderful comedienne and used her wit and upbringing to make audiences love her. Aside from being able to hold a room, she was also a wonderful singer who could make her fans both laugh and cry. This is the story of her life and her relationship with her gambling husband who caused her a great deal of pain.There are many problems with this film. The overall issue is the anachronisms. If the filmmakers wanted to be taken seriously, they should have paid more attention to the details. There is way too much music here that was written decades after Brice's heyday with no attempt to emulate the style of her era. Aside from Streisand's wardrobe, the costumes are a product of their era, not of the 1920s. The chorus girls of the Ziegfeld Follies have pouty lips, heavy eye makeup, costumes that enhance their bustiness, busky eyebrows, and buffant hairstyles. This is all wrong for the 20s, an era when being flatchested and shapeless was fashionable, women had pencil thin eyebrows, small red mouths, and Marcelwaved bobs.Another problem with the film as a biopic is Streisand's presence. Aside from the occasions where she is immitating Brice's characteristics such as a witty line delivery or a funny dance, Streisand is playing herself and promoting her own personality. For those who are familiar with Brice, the film is a disappointment because her radiant humor and powerful song delivery are missing. The "My Man" finale has to be the most disappointing of all. This song was a trademark of Brice's who sang the emotional song with an understated elegance that tore audiences apart. Streisand's version is self indulgent, showy, and forced, an embarassment and an awful way to end the film.Aside from those glaring mistakes, the movie is entertaining enough to stand on its own. It is certainly no masterpiece of cinema, but it passes the time amusingly enough. However, if you're looking for a biography of Fanny Brice, look elsewhere. The best alternative is to see her as she truly was in her few film appearances.