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Funny Girl (1968)
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Movie Review by KRuNCH
November 22nd, 2007
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NOT Funny Girl
Funny? You think!?
There's a scene early on in this movie where a telegram arrives for Fanny from Florenz Zeigfield,requesting that she come in for an audition. The whole stinkin' neighborhood is practically in Fanny's mother's saloon when this telegram is read by Fanny. When Fanny finishes reading the thing her high'n'mighty mother sneers and barks out loud enough for the whole place to hear,"What kind of a mother would name her son Florenz!?"(refering to Zeigfield)......Hello!?....Who the hell does this old bag think she is criticizing anybody's mother for what they choose to name their brat....I mean,what kind of a mother would name their daughter FANNY!!???....Isn't Fanny another name for the buttocks,the butt,the bum,the ass!!!???....Can you imagine how much teasing a child in New York would have to endure at school with a stupid name like 'Fanny'!!?? The jokes would never end.
I gave this movie 3.5 stars. And these 3.5 stars are for only 3 things in this mega-boring movie. One star goes to the song 'People'. 1.5 stars go to the song 'My Man'. And 1 star goes to Streisand for singing these 2 numbers. The rest of this movie,including Streisand's character and the rest of the songs,are utterly intolerable. Why she ever played Fanny Brice,I don't know. This movie didn't even come close to an accurate account of Fanny Brice's life. Brice never had the vocal talents of Streisand. Brice was actually a really gifted comedienne. Streisand is not. Streisand is so painfully bad as a comedienne that it makes me wince and cringe whenever she cracks another 'funny'. With the exception of 'Second-hand Rose',none of the songs in this movie came from the era of the 20's. They were all written specifically for Streisand so she could sing 'em in this movie.
About the only thing that I found 'funny'(actually hysterical is more like it)in this movie was Streisand's wigs. She never wore the same wig twice and each time she donned a new one it seemed like her head was getting longer and longer until by about two-thirds of way thru' this musical mess she started to remind me of Ridley Scott's ALIEN whenever she turned sideways in profile. I wonder if her inflated head was any indication of how inflated her ego was getting as film production continued. Could be.
My trashing of this movie would never be totally complete without a word,or two,about Omar Sharif and I'm sorry to say but words like 'GORGEOUS'(as Steisand refered to him in the movie)ain't the kind of words that come to mind. 'BLECH' is more like it. This guy really gave me the creeps,big time. I hated-I hated-I hated his big,droopy eyes. They always looked so watery and yucky. Apparently women in the 70's drooled like fiends over Omar and his watery eyes and they happily slept all night long with his picture tucked safely under their pillows?? He was a big box-office draw back then,but his career was short-lived. Thank goodness for that.
And as the lyrics go......People who need(read) People(magazine,that is)are the
luckiest(stupidest) people in the world.
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 | BillyBob
Nov 24, 2007 1:44 AM
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| Hot review,man!! I notice everyone else at Matchf*ck is too scared to say anything about your review. At least you had the guts to point out what a piece of garbage this movie really is. I mean,even if people don't agree with what you say they could at least stick up for their own opinion of this piece of junk. Rock on,baby!! |
 | Tim
Nov 26, 2007 9:13 AM
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Just to add a few facts about the movie:
Matchflick has "Funny Girl" listed as a film from 1972. It was actually released in 1968.
The song "My Man" was indeed a song from the Fanny Brice era, and one that Brice recorded.
Streisand was chosen to play Fanny in the film because in 1964 she had starred in the very successful Broadway musical on which it was based.
Streisand won the Academy Award for Best Actress, an honor she shared with Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter. The film was nominated in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Kay Medford), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation), Best Original Song ("Funny Girl"), and Best Sound. Streisand also won a Golden Globe as Best Actress. Golden Globe nominations also went to the film, the title song, and the director, William Wyler.
The film was a huge hit in theaters, and became the top grossing film of 1968. |
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Nov 28, 2007 10:54 PM
Mar 17, 2008 8:55 AM