Down-on-his-luck Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) talks a clean-cut accountant (Matthew Broderick) into joining him in a scheme where they will make money from putting on a show guaranteed to fail. This adaptation of the Broadway smash hit was done pretty much the way the play was produced; the original director made it together with most of the original cast. Unable to liberate itself from looking like a filmed play, the movie also suffers a bit from overlength and a few inferior songs. Still, very funny it is, benefiting immensely from the veteran performances, not least Lane and Gary Beach.
2005-U.S. 129 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Susan Stroman. Screenplay, Play: Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan. Song: “There’s Nothing Like a Show on Broadway” (Mel Brooks). Cast: Nathan Lane (Max Bialystock), Matthew Broderick (Leo Bloom), Uma Thurman (Ulla), Will Ferrell, Gary Beach, Roger Bart… Jon Lovitz, Michael McKean.
Trivia: Co-produced by Brooks. Nicole Kidman was reportedly considered for the part of Ulla. Brad Oscar and Richard Kind, who have bit parts here, played Franz Liebkind and Bialystock on stage at various points. Mel Brooks dubs a line during the performance of “Springtime for Hitler”, just as he did in the original.
