Plot
In 1959, following the flop of the Broadway theatrical musical Funny Boy (based on William Shakespeare's Hamlet ) ("Opening Night"), the show's washed-up producer, Max Bialystock, hires the neurotic Leo Bloom as his accountant. In studying Max's books, Leo panics when he discovers a $2,000 discrepancy. While shuffling numbers, he notes that, as a flop is expected to lose money, the IRS will not investigate its finances. He jests that by selling an excess of shares and embezzling the funds, a flop could generate up to $2 million. Max asks for Leo's help with the scheme, only for the latter to refuse ("We Can Do It").
Returning to his old accounting firm, Leo starts fantasizing about being a Broadway producer ("I Wanna Be a Producer"). Leo quits his job and forms "Bialystock & Bloom" with Max. Searching for the worst play ever written, they find Springtime for Hitler , an admiring musical tribute to Adolf Hitler written by ex-Nazi soldier Franz Liebkind. To acquire Franz's rights to the musical, they perform Hitler's favorite song and swear the sacred "Siegfried Oath" to him ("Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop").
Next, Leo and Max meet with failing transvestite director Roger De Bris and his assistant, Carmen Ghia. Roger is reluctant to direct, but when Leo and Max suggest he could win a Tony Award, he agrees on the condition that the play be more "gay" ("Keep It Gay"). Back at their office, a Swedish woman named Ulla appears to audition. Although Leo points out that they have not started casting, Max hires her as their secretary until they audition her later ("When You've Got It, Flaunt It").
To gain backers to fund the musical, Max has dalliances with several elderly women ("Along Came Bialy"), allowing him to raise the $2 million. Leo laments about the dangers of sex distracting him from his work, and shares a kiss with Ulla ("That Face"). At auditions for the role of Hitler, Franz, angered at a performer's rendition of a German song, storms the stage and performs it himself ("Haben Sie gehört das Deutsche Band?"). Based on the performance, Max hires Franz to play Hitler.
On opening night, as the cast and crew prepare to go on stage, Leo wishes everyone good luck, to which everyone warns it is bad luck to say "good luck" on opening night, and that the correct phrase is to say "break a leg" ("You Never Say Good Luck on Opening Night"). Franz leaves to prepare and literally breaks his leg in a fall. Max enlists Roger to perform the role in his place, and Roger accepts.
As the show opens, the audience is horrified at the first song ("Springtime for Hitler"), and people begin leaving out of disgust until Roger enters as Hitler ("Heil Myself"). Roger, playing Hitler very flamboyantly, causes the audience to misinterpret the play as satire, resulting in the show becoming a smash. Terrified the IRS will learn of their crimes, a dispute breaks out between Leo and Max, but stops when Roger and Carmen come into the office to congratulate them. Furious at Roger for making the play successful, Max angrily confronts Roger for his actions, and even goes as far to physically torture Carmen when he tries to defend Roger. Franz then appears and attempts to shoot all four of them for breaking the Siegfried Oath by mocking Hitler, only to attract the police. As Max and Franz attempt to evade the police, Franz breaks his other leg.
Arrested for his tax fraud, Max is imprisoned while Leo elopes with Ulla to Rio de Janeiro ("Betrayed"). About to be sentenced, Max is saved by Leo, who returns to defend him ("'Til Him"). The judge, realizing Leo and Max are inseparable, sentences them both to five years at Sing Sing Prison with Franz. Writing and producing a new musical in prison ("Prisoners of Love"), Leo, Max, and Franz are pardoned by the governor of New York for their work, allowing them to collaborate with Roger and Ulla and release Prisoners of Love. The play's success means Max and Leo go on to become successful Broadway producers.
In a post-credits scene, the cast sings "Goodbye!", telling the audience to leave the theater.
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 50% based on 153 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Despite the rich source material, The Producers has a stale, stagy feel more suited to the theater than the big screen." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. [5]
A positive review from Betty Jo Tucker of Reel Talk said: "Outrageous musical numbers evoke most of the laughs in this movie funfest. Eat your heart out, Rockettes, because here comes a little old ladies' chorus line ('Along Came Bialy') to rival your success. Watch out, real-life producers, for an actor named Gary Beach ('Heil Myself'). Never, and I mean never, hire him if you want your play to flop! And stop spinning in your grave, Florenz Ziegfeld. Those 'Springtime for Hitler and Germany' showgirls are all in good fun. Finally, congratulations to director Susan Stroman, for making this Broadway gem into a film that old-time movie musical fans like me can cheer about." [6]
Nathan Rabin wrote: "Between the rough start and an ending that lingers too long, there's a solid hour or so of terrific entertainment that serves as both a giddy tribute to Broadway musicals and a parody thereof. Thirty-seven years after Brooks declared war on taste and propriety, The Producers has lost its power to shock or offend, but it's retained its ability to amuse." [7]
Roger Ebert cited difficulty in reviewing the film due to familiarity with the original 1967 film. However, he did state that the new version was "fun" and gave it three out of four stars. Said Ebert: "The new movie is a success, that I know. How much of a success, I cannot be sure." [8]
In addition to these positive reviews, it was nominated for four Golden Globes (including nominations for actors Ferrell and Lane).
Most negative reviews suggested that the performances were tuned more for the theater rather than for film. Stephanie Zacharek observed: "The Producers is essentially a filmed version of a stage play, in which none of the characters' expressions or line readings have been scaled down to make sense on-screen. Every gesture is played out as if the actors were 20 feet away in real life, which means that, by the time the performers are magnified on the big screen, they're practically sitting in your lap. The effect is something like watching a 3-D IMAX film without the special glasses." [9]
In addition to these negative reviews, it was nominated for five Stinkers Bad Movie Awards (Worst Director, Worst Remake, Worst Actor for Broderick, Least Dynamic Duo for Broderick and Lane, and Worst Song for "Keep It Gay") along with winning a special "Annie Award", which criticised the decision to sell tickets for the film for an additional $2.50; the name reflects a decision similarly used by the film Annie .
