A movie written by Mel Brooks, starring Nathan Lane. How could this be a miserable, boring, snooze-fest? You got me, but it was.
I rarely go to see movies. I just got back from this one, literally walked in the house ten minutes ago. It wasn't a good movie. It wasn't an especially bad movie. If I had hated it, I would have given it a higher score. If a movie can evoke an emotion like hatred in you, they've done something special. This just left me bored.
There have been perhaps half a dozen movies in the last twelve months that I have wanted to see. This was one of them. Mel Brooks and Nathan Lane would have been more than enough to get me there. What I got was disappointment. My entire family went to see it, and we got about three chuckles each. It wasn't the Hitler thing, indeed, that was one of my three chuckles. It was just... flat.
Matthew Broderick was the wrong choice. His singing voice is quite good, which was a pleasant surprise, but still... just not the right choice. His facial expressions were a constant source of aggravation, wide-eyed and simply not fitting the scene, and his acting was overdone. Yes, that was likely the point, but he couldn't do it well. Someone like Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler makes overdoing it an art form, but Broderick couldn't do that (Please note that I'm not saying Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler could have done better in this role, merely that they do that style of acting well, whereas Matthew Broderick didn't). And the scene where he is going hysterical? Painful. With a capital P, and a large number of exclamation marks.
Nathan Lane was amusing, but somehow even he didn't manage to save this from the clutches of boredom. Such a pity, as everything else I have seen him in has been brilliant, but this... Just unfortunate.
Uma Thurman was as good as her role would allow. There's only so much you can do with a Swedish accent and revealing clothing.
Will Ferrel as Franz Liebkind the neo-Nazi playwright was probably the most amusing, possibly rivalled only by Gary Beach as Roger DeBris and Roger Bart as his "Common law assistant". These three where probably the only consistent source of laughter, and the cause of the other two times I cracked a smile.
The musical numbers went on for just that touch too long. If each had been a verse or two shorter, they would have been perfect.
The Hitler thing didn't offend me in the least. Actually, I lied when I said I chuckled three times. I did chuckle a few times during their opening night, but I didn't laugh once.
The theatre was silent, save for the movie itself. No, actually, a phone rang, once, and I think someone was playing brick on their phone. Oh, and the door squeaked as someone came in with popcorn.
We came out distinctly disappointed. The phrase that came to mind was "Waste of money". It may well have been better on the stage, but... this was just a flat, boring, unfunny mess.
If you're considering seeing it, don't. Wait a few years until you can rent it for a week for $3. That way, you'll lessen the money you waste.
I rarely go to see movies. I just got back from this one, literally walked in the house ten minutes ago. It wasn't a good movie. It wasn't an especially bad movie. If I had hated it, I would have given it a higher score. If a movie can evoke an emotion like hatred in you, they've done something special. This just left me bored.
There have been perhaps half a dozen movies in the last twelve months that I have wanted to see. This was one of them. Mel Brooks and Nathan Lane would have been more than enough to get me there. What I got was disappointment. My entire family went to see it, and we got about three chuckles each. It wasn't the Hitler thing, indeed, that was one of my three chuckles. It was just... flat.
Matthew Broderick was the wrong choice. His singing voice is quite good, which was a pleasant surprise, but still... just not the right choice. His facial expressions were a constant source of aggravation, wide-eyed and simply not fitting the scene, and his acting was overdone. Yes, that was likely the point, but he couldn't do it well. Someone like Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler makes overdoing it an art form, but Broderick couldn't do that (Please note that I'm not saying Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler could have done better in this role, merely that they do that style of acting well, whereas Matthew Broderick didn't). And the scene where he is going hysterical? Painful. With a capital P, and a large number of exclamation marks.
Nathan Lane was amusing, but somehow even he didn't manage to save this from the clutches of boredom. Such a pity, as everything else I have seen him in has been brilliant, but this... Just unfortunate.
Uma Thurman was as good as her role would allow. There's only so much you can do with a Swedish accent and revealing clothing.
Will Ferrel as Franz Liebkind the neo-Nazi playwright was probably the most amusing, possibly rivalled only by Gary Beach as Roger DeBris and Roger Bart as his "Common law assistant". These three where probably the only consistent source of laughter, and the cause of the other two times I cracked a smile.
The musical numbers went on for just that touch too long. If each had been a verse or two shorter, they would have been perfect.
The Hitler thing didn't offend me in the least. Actually, I lied when I said I chuckled three times. I did chuckle a few times during their opening night, but I didn't laugh once.
The theatre was silent, save for the movie itself. No, actually, a phone rang, once, and I think someone was playing brick on their phone. Oh, and the door squeaked as someone came in with popcorn.
We came out distinctly disappointed. The phrase that came to mind was "Waste of money". It may well have been better on the stage, but... this was just a flat, boring, unfunny mess.
If you're considering seeing it, don't. Wait a few years until you can rent it for a week for $3. That way, you'll lessen the money you waste.