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More wrong than right with 'The Producers'

The third version of Mel Brooks' The Producers makes for a good movie musical, but it made for a great stage show and a classic 1968 film. For these producers, the law of diminishing returns holds sway.

Brooks made his first big splash with the 1968 comedy, one of the funniest ever made. His story was deliciously clever. An unscrupulous Broadway producer, Max Bialystock, and his nervous accountant Leo Bloom, hatch a scheme to raise millions of dollars for a tasteless Nazi musical, then take the money and run when it flops.

Universal Pictures 'The Producers' B- The verdict: For these producers, the law of diminishing returns holds sway. Director: Susan Stroman Starring: Will Ferrell, Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Gary Beach Run time: 134 minutes Release date: Dec. 16, 2005 Rating: PG-13 for sexual humor and references. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'The Producers' Go see it 65.44% 178 Make it a matinee 16.18% 44 Wait to rent 8.46% 23 Don't bother 9.93% 27

Now comes the movie of the 2001 stage musical, with most of the same ingredients that made the show a hit. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprise their roles as Bialystock and Bloom, respectively; Brooks and Thomas Meehan wrote the screenplay and the book of the musical and Susan Stroman, the director and choreographer of the stage show, takes her first turn behind the camera.

Unfortunately, this third Producers sputters occasionally because it's all too obvious that this is Stroman's first turn behind the camera.

The best movie musicals have life jumping out of every frame, whether it be through lively direction of a dance number or meticulously timed comedy. Some people (myself not included) felt that Rob Marshall, who made the film version of Chicago overdid it, directing every number to a frenzy.

Stroman, however, shows the perils of the opposite approach: she doesn't move the camera enough. Her widescreen shots look handsome, befitting her experience at blocking, but Stroman usually moves the camera only to go for a close-up or to keep the characters in the frame. This drains the musical's energy.

Even so, there are still plenty of laughs to go around. With a premise this inspired and a cast this talented, it would take monumental mistakes to screw them up.

Lane and Broderick absolutely deserve their reputation as a great comedy team, and Roger Bart and Gary Beach bounce off each other almost too well as the flamboyant stage director and his "common law" assistant. Uma Thurman is a giddy delight as the well-endowed secretary Ulla, and even the usually overbearing Will Ferrell is amusing as the "Teutonic twit" playwright. Stroman and Brooks save one of their best gags for the very end; make sure you stay all through the end credits to catch it.

When Bialystock's scheme fails and Springtime for Hitler becomes a hit, he laments, "Where did I go right?" I was left wondering more what was right than what was wrong with The Producers.