glassman-4

I'm not a huge fan of Mel Brooks movies, I admit. They have good lines, but as coherent movies, they usually come up short. Such is the case of "The Producers". Although it may be a "cult" classic, it never became a REAL classic because it just doesn't work in this format.

BUT as a Broadway musical (THE PRODUCERS, that is, not SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER) it is a real gem. Brooks' talent comes through full force, but he gave enough authority to other people involved to cut out his often silly, un-funny sophomoric humor, probably since this was his first play. Watching the movie now simply reminds one of all the great musical numbers in the broadway show. In the genre of great old musical comedies, it is set in the 1950s and works much better that way.

The movie however, taking place in the "present", i.e. 1968, the classic musical was already going out of fashion, and it is no surprise that Max was no longer successful. The contemporary sixties clothing, sets, and "L.S.D." are out of place as they do not conjure up images of classic broadway musicals and the atmosphere that went along with them.

If you like the movie, you'll love the musical. This movie was BEGGING to be made into one, and I'm glad it finally happened. I just hope Mel is able to bring it to the big screen one day, although it probably won't be until the touring company finishes, and that may not be for years and years. In the meantime, get your tickets (a year in advance) and make your plans to go to NYC or London, or wherever it's playing when you read this (even your community theatre someday?).

Don't miss the late great Chris "Mr. Belvedere" Hewitt as Roger DeBris.

This show was fun at first. A unique take on the different-setting-and-characters-per-week drama or mystery. But the show takes itself too seriously now. It was fun to see how angels could have intervened in some situations, but I never took it seriously from a religious perspective. The cult status shows that people ARE looking at it seriously from a religious standpoint, which is sad. I liked the shows that dealt with the angels themselves, such as the first one with the angel of death (the first season thanksgiving episode), Jacob's Ladder (Monica in the insane asylum and Cindy Williams [Claire] a lost angel), the episode where they face the devil, the episode where Monica has to discover that she has no faith. But that was all pure fictional enjoyment; a fantasy about an angel world. If you need to see angels to believe in God, or don't believe you can help people without magic powers or a magic spotlight, then the show is doing more harm than good. Please CBS, give the show a rest already!

This is one of the few 80s miniseries I thoroughly enjoyed. It's very exciting and enjoyable, and just cheesy enough to not take itself too seriously. AND it has Gina Lolobrigida! The Princeton subplot wasn't all that interesting, but the rest of this movie was great. And who could forget Mrs. Thirkel insulting the medical profession and Italian food. Classic. This isn't for beer swilling dudes or high culture snobs, but most everyone else will love it for the scenes in Europe, the exciting plot, and the comedic high drama. I'm upset it's not available on video.