VARIOUS ARTISTS
The Producers, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Sony BMG
· A copy of a copy of a film.
Before anyone complains that this review is belated, keep in mind it’s a review of the soundtrack to a movie-musical based on a Broadway show, which is itself an adaptation of a movie (about a Broadway musical, naturally). When a concept recycles itself that often, timeliness is hardly a concern.
The question, then, is whether the original concept is strong enough to justify so much stretching. The Producers started off as a skewering of Broadway clichés and an exploration of what makes tastelessness so amusing, but it’s lost its edginess over the years. It’s still a blast to hear tap-dancing Nazis toss thinly veiled threats at Poland in "Springtime for Hitler," but "Heil Myself" has no teeth and Uma Thurman’s Swedish accent is the only joke in "When You Got It, Flaunt It." For a show about the most tasteless play on Broadway, it’s pretty bland.
As for the perfomers, Matthew Broderick’s wholesome vibrato is competent if a little grating, Will Ferrell proves that he can belt out a tune far better than his requiem in Old School would have you believe, and Nathan Lane is as Nathan Lane-ish as can be. It’s exactly the sum of its parts – a typical Broadway show with a few more "master race" references than average.
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