The movie poster and description might lead you to believe that this was a joke-a-minute "Springtime for Hitler" comedy. But it's not. It's really more like the Nazi version of "The King's Speech," with a supposedly famed Jewish actor being forced to help Hitler make a key speech in Berlin late in the war.
I suppose there might have been a way to make this succeed as a drama, but the creators chose to go the comedy route, and there are far too many squirm-inducing scenes of questionable taste for it to be genuinely funny. I will admit that there are some humorous bits: Hitler playing with a battleship in the tub, Hitler singing a love song while accompanying himself on the Hammond organ, Hitler giving a speech in a "borrowed" mustache; but they don't make up for the "jokes" about gas chambers, "dirty Jews," etc. The writer also seems to think that watching guys say "Heil Hitler" is funny in itself. There are poignant moments involving the Jewish actor's family, and one especially good scene in which he talks on the phone to a friend who's in a concentration camp. But then we jump back to more tasteless humor.
The climactic scene has some funny lines, but the way it plays out throws a bucket of cold water on the entire project. Don't watch this if you are expecting a light comedy, or even a well-made dark comedy. If you want to laugh at Nazis, watch Mel Brooks.
I suppose there might have been a way to make this succeed as a drama, but the creators chose to go the comedy route, and there are far too many squirm-inducing scenes of questionable taste for it to be genuinely funny. I will admit that there are some humorous bits: Hitler playing with a battleship in the tub, Hitler singing a love song while accompanying himself on the Hammond organ, Hitler giving a speech in a "borrowed" mustache; but they don't make up for the "jokes" about gas chambers, "dirty Jews," etc. The writer also seems to think that watching guys say "Heil Hitler" is funny in itself. There are poignant moments involving the Jewish actor's family, and one especially good scene in which he talks on the phone to a friend who's in a concentration camp. But then we jump back to more tasteless humor.
The climactic scene has some funny lines, but the way it plays out throws a bucket of cold water on the entire project. Don't watch this if you are expecting a light comedy, or even a well-made dark comedy. If you want to laugh at Nazis, watch Mel Brooks.