EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#0EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 4:23pm
Which means they found RENT to be far superior (A-)...hmm...
REVIEW
Updated On: 12/14/05 at 04:23 PM
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#1re: EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 4:26pm
"Gestures that were designed to play to an upper balcony jammed with tourists look overeager on the big screen, and despite the inclusion of a few new outdoor location shots, the ripped-from-the-stage aesthetic induces claustrophobia. Worst of all, stuff that's built for huge laughs and applause dies a thousand deaths when concluded in silence without the response of a live audience. "
Oh dear.
#2re: EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 4:27pm
Ouch. Dustin Putnam, a member of the Online Film Critics Society, gave The Producers * out of four. Here's part of his review...
"The Producers" is a dreary musical, a nearly laughless comedy, and 134 minutes that are made up of 134 minutes of padding. In the place of substance and energy is a vacuous, threadbare black hole. The production design by Mark Friedberg (2005's "Broken Flowers") and art direction by Peter Rogness (2002's "Far From Heaven") uneasily switch between obscenely fake studio backdrops and on-location New York City shooting, the abrupt change jarring in the extreme for the viewer. The cinematography by John Bailey (2005's "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants") and Charles Minsky (2004's "Raising Helen") is unoriginal when it comes to shooting the song-and-dance numbers, but does hold a certain nostalgic attractiveness in its aesthetic mimicry of a Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly musical. This one compliment cannot save the day of "The Producers," easily the least dynamic and empty of all the screen musicals of the last decade. The dearth of genre inspiration would be downright insulting if the film as a whole wasn't such a trivial bust.
C is for Company
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/16/05
#3re: EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 4:32pmEW sucks, I HATE their ratings. Does anybody remember when anything scored higher than B+? Some of the best movies havent reached high so I completely disregard their picks to the lowest of my list
#4re: EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 4:33pm
Ouch... I had vaguely thought the same thing about the sets from watching the preview... it just seems SO transposed from the stage show that it may be like watching a play, but without the benefit of live entertainment.
On the other hand, the performances should be great.
Updated On: 12/14/05 at 04:33 PM
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#5re: EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 4:34pm
Company:
Brokeback Mountain
Rent
King Kong
Sideways
Million Dollar Baby
and
Munich are just a few off of the top of my head. They have handed out quite a lot of raves. More than most reviewers if you ask me.
#6re: EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 4:35pmI remember when EW was first created and I was sent a sample copy to see if I wanted a subscription. It's basically "People" magazine for people who have a 30-second attention span. . . they should have just called it "People-light."
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#7re: EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 4:36pmAnd I thought this was going to be the year's funniest most entertaining movie. Hmph.
#8re: EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 5:39pm
Hanna...when is the last time you read Entertainment Weekly? It's definitely not a People-light. If anything...People is a glitzy, lighter, more pictures version of EW. EW is very reliable for information and they always cover the greatest news in entertainment.
I, personally, tend to agree with their reviews. And when there are so many great movies being made, what's wrong with having so many raves? WickedRocks...you just counted six, that's not "quite a lot" if you ask me.
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#9re: EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 5:41pmI said those were off the top of my head.
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#10re: EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 5:45pm
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Wedding Crashers
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
War of the Worlds
The Lovely Bones
Sweeney Todd
Avenue Q
Ray
Mamma Mia
Jersey Boys
and there have been a LOT of books theyve raved about.
#11re: EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 5:48pmNooo! My favorite review source gave Producers such a low grade! I also tend to trust their reviews. They are my favorite entertainment magazine. They don't go into the tabloid pictures/dating news like People does.
#12re: EW gives 'The Producers' a 'C'
Posted: 12/14/05 at 7:42pm
Nor do they waste their time covering what the stars are wearing. That is my biggest complaint about People.
Back on topic, I'm not surprised to see the sentiments expressed in their review. I saw a TV commercial for the film for the first time a night or two ago, and I was horrified to see how cheap and overacted the whole thing was. Sort of how I felt when the original, one of my favorite comedy classics, was destroyed for the stage.
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