Today’s quick review: The Producers. Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel), a washed-up Broadway producer who woos old ladies for their money, gets a second shot at riches when Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), his accountant, figures out that a failed play could make more money than a successful one. Leo requires some convincing to overcome his scruples, but Max wins him over, and the two set about producing the biggest flop in Broadway history. The script comes from a disturbed Nazi (Kenneth Mars) who wants to show the world the gentler side of Hitler. The director (Christopher Hewitt) is a flamboyant drama queen with a poor professional track record. The lead (Dick Shawn) is a hippie who wandered into the wrong audition. The financiers are Max’s stable of old ladies, each promised 50% or more of the profits. When the play fails, it will make its producers a fortune. But if it succeeds, its producers will go to jail for fraud.
The Producers is a comedy from director and writer Mel Brooks. Zero Mostel plays Max Bialystock, an overbearing producer who laments his faded glory. Gene Wilder plays his opposite, a neurotic accountant prone to fits of hysteria. The duo work well together, but they are more joke characters than sympathetic protagonists. Leo has a fragile innocence that makes him interesting, but this tender nature tends to be overpowered by his screaming fits. For his part, Max has few redeeming qualities. Zero Mostel’s barbed jokes are quite funny, but his character lacks the heart needed to make him pitiable.
Despite a good cast and a creative premise, The Producers does not live up to its potential. Much of its humor comes from the introduction of wild new characters, such as the Nazi playwright or Max’s harem of feisty old ladies. These are one-note scenes that lack any real character interaction, only Max and Leo putting up with their marks’ eccentricities to move forward with the play. The plot is very linear, with no real conflict other than Leo’s early reservations and the outcome of the play. The high points of the movie are Max’s slimy persuasion tactics, Leo’s unabashed joy at discovering there is more to life than accounting, and their monstrosity of a play, Springtime for Hitler.
Beyond that, there is very little meat on The Producers’ bones. Deeper characters, a more complicated plot, or even musical numbers would have turned it into a great comedy with a strong cast and a unique premise. As it is, The Producers does not live up to its potential. Fans of Mel Brooks’s humor or fans of Broadway comedy may get more out of it. Those who are curious about why it is considered a classic should give it a watch to judge for themselves. The makings of a great movie are there, and they may click for other viewers. But those who only have a passing interest in The Producers should skip it. The Producers is a series of decent gags that do not come together as strongly as they could have.
7.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 for missed potential.