60/60 Extra: The Producers.

When I at first could not get The Great Dictator, prior to Hatter's kindness, I asked for suggestions on films that could replace it. I also asked, in general, films I could use as Extras for this particular month. With all the films thrown at me, this one was the highest on the list to possibly replace Dictator due to it being a comical take on Nazis and Hitler. But after Dictator came through, I pushed this one down to a lowly Extra. And... I'm kinda glad it happened that way.

The Producers is Mel Brooks' first directorial effort. It's about a once big-time Broadway producer named Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) who has fallen from grace and spends his time entertaining and sleeping with elderly women in order to finagle money from them. But when an accountant named Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) comes up with the idea that a big flop can generate more money than a hit if they do it right, they come up with a scheme to find the worst play they can and over-produce it. So they end up choosing Springtime for Hitler, a play that shows a more positive side of the fuhrer written by a former Nazi named Franz (Kenneth Mars).

Now, I like both Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder quite a bit. I thought the premise was terribly amusing. But the whole thing just... fell flat for me. I laughed once. Near the beginning. Gene Wilder's whole "I'M HYSTERICAL!" bit was, well... hysterical. But that was about it. Even the famous "Springtime for Hitler" song was only mildly amusing to me. I just found that I was bored through the majority of it. Sure, things were amusing from time to time that made me smirk, but I mostly watched the film with a blank face. In fact, about an hour into the movie (with only 20 minutes left), I found myself on my laptop, doing some multi-tasking because I just couldn't get into the movie.

I don't think it was the fault of the film. It wasn't bad. Some humor appeals to some people, and some of it doesn't. I guess this humor just didn't appeal to me on the whole. I have been told, however, to check out the remake, which I might enjoy more. So I'll look into that. But for this one, I'm afraid that I only really liked it for Gene Wilder. Sorry.


Stop Saying OK! OK.