Thanks for the memories!

Sick Product of a Sick System

One of my all time favorites.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Weird-faced Fanny Brice (Barbra Streisand) rises to stardom on the New York Vaudeville Stage and maintains a turbulent marriage with suave gambler Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif).So maybe this is supposed to be one of the classics. I appreciate the attempt to tell the story of Fanny Brice... but geez, this is just bad. I am sorry that everyone in the world disagrees, but wow. First of all, way too long. I don't mind overtures and intermissions... but for this? And Streisand... just awful. Who thinks she's a good actress? Wow.I feel bad rating this so low, but it just was not enjoyable... it was almost unbearable to watch. I would not recommend this to anyone, even my worst enemies.

A film adaption of a successful stage musical loosely based on the inspiring life of Fanny Brice (1891-1951), a popular vaudeville performer belongs to a bygone era, one of girls of Zeigfeld Follies, and her tempestuous marriage with Nick Arnstein (Sharif), a notorious gambler and debonair con artist.Barbra Streisand reprises her role on the big screen as her tailor-made debut and star-making vehicle, helmed by Wyler as the sole musical in his illustrious filmography and the penultimate feature of his glorious career, in addition to music and lyrics of Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, the film would be a major contender in the Oscar game and would eminently wins Streisand a BEST LEADING ACTRESS honour and the one-and-the-only time, in a tie with Katharine Hepburn in THE LION IN WINTER (1968). FUNNY GIRL ambitiously amalgamates an unconventional passage-to-fame of an ugly duckling with a mellifluous voice and an attitude of self-mockery, with a rote romance follows by the matrimonial turbulence, which mordantly bears out why it is so difficult for a successful woman to find a suitable hubby under the chauvinistic macro-milieu, especially when a husband's ego is too proud to accept the succour from his own wife even the situation is completely owing to his own defects.At a length of 150 minutes, including an overture and intermission, FUNNY GIRL is wholly focused on Streisand's Fanny and her affair of the heart. A not-so-attractive girl with a lowbrow upbringing, dreams of being a star on stage thanks to her singing talent, breezily challenges the customary but fluffy images of a Ziegfeld's girl (against the will of Mr. Florenz Ziegfeld, played by a stern-looking Pidgeon) and meets her deserved success. The first half of the movie is a high-octane studio-bound musical, Streisand's vocal prowess is impeccably affecting and puissant, you don't have to be her fan to acknowledge that (PEOPLE is such an empowering ballad, whereas the first half bookends with an exhilarating DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE and the film crowns with her heart-rending delivery of MY MAN). Meanwhile she is quite effective as a comedienne too, the romantic chemistry between her and Sharif (if we can overlook his foreign accent and exotic looks to believe he is a Caucasian) is palpable since in real life there was a thing between them.The second half is more about Fanny and Nick's relationship than her career orbit, so a more melodramatic mood shift infuses gradually (although Fanny's Swan Lake spoof is a tension diffuser), but luckily Streisand and Sharif retain in their composure most of the time without hamming up the ugly confrontation, rarely, a celebrity's marriage can disintegrate with such dignity and mutual understanding, love is still there, but marriage just doesn't function for them. Omar Sharif, slums it cautiously for fear of stealing the diva's thunders in his most charming appearance, thus it is almost like a miracle that the veteran Kay Medford, who also reprises her role from the stage, can usurp an Oscar-nomination as Fanny's unpretentious and level-headed mother Rose, as far as we know, her scenes could all have been left on the floor of the editing room.Maybe Streisand is a prima-donna during the film's making and production process, but standing in the view of a showbiz outsider and a pure spectator, viewing this picture for the first-time, one thing I must admit, she shines in it magnificently, there is no shame to be nitpicking of one's own passion project, after all it is her own reputation and future are at stake, plus being a woman, it does take guts to effectuate the take-no-prisoners modus operandi in this profession, what's why even under a global scale, no other female star hitherto can inherit her mantle, she is indeed the nonpareil Barbra Streisand.

With the exception of Streisand's delivery of two songs (People & My Man), I think the rest of this movie, including Streisand's character, was utterly intolerable.This movie didn't even come close to being an accurate account of Fanny Brice's life. Brice never had the vocal talents of Streisand. Brice was actually a really gifted comedienne. Streisand was not. Streisand was so painfully bad as a comedienne that it made me wince and cringe whenever she cracked another 'funny'.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 Streisand referred to him in the movie) ain't the kind of words that come to mind. 'Blech!' is more like it.Sharif 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.

For years I have heard of Barbra Streisand as an iconic and brilliant singer and actress but I can't honestly say that I've seen her in much. I have had very little Streisand experience. Cineplex running the classic movies has been such a great experience for me. I am finally seeing these amazing iconic films that I keep saying I will see but never do. Funny Girl was...simply put...fantastic. Its a moving, often funny, sweet and touching romantic musical that absolutely showcases why it is such an iconic classic. The film is very long, much longer than I think it really needs to be. Its pretty stupid of me to even say something negative about a film that has withstood 40+ years and is loved by nearly everyone but I think the movie could have easily been edited to a much tidier 2 hours or less. There were a few scenes in the film (perhaps carried over from the Broadway play) that were simply unnecessary and felt that way. I definitely enjoyed the first part of the film more than the second but it also has many different tones throughout the movie as well. The start of the movie is more comedic, the songs are more upbeat and there are more of them. The latter half of the film is emotional, even sad at times and has less songs. Regardless this was a stunning romantic film that shows you just about every part of a passionate romance from beginning to end.The person who impressed me most in the film was Barbra Streisand. Her comedic timing was amazing and her performance was absolutely worthy of her Oscar. Fanny Brice is a down to earth girl raised in meagre surroundings with a low opinion of herself. She is also insanely talented and her brash, strong personality rockets her to stardom. She is riveting on screen and her charisma is absolutely undeniable. Not to be outdone Omar Sharif is also excellent. He is suave and cool and also lights up the screen. While it would seem that Streisand and Sharif are not a good match, their chemistry is terrific. Sharif is perfect for the role and his character is so flawed and goes through so much in the course of the film. There isn't a large supporting cast but there are definitely some performances worth mentioning. Kay Medford as Streisand's mother is a lot of fun in a small but noticeable role, Walter Pidgeon as the curmudgeonly theatre producer and Mae Questel as the hilarious and sly Mrs. Strakosh.Director William Wyler is a legend. He has so many classics under his belt that its clear he knows how to create a near masterpiece. I still think the film could have been edited better but Wyler tells his story without holding back any details. This is obviously a musical but at the same time, the songs aren't the driving force behind the story. They have a distinctive place in the film (most cases are while Fanny Brice is performing) and they don't overwhelm the film so even if you're not a huge fan of musicals but love classics then you can still enjoy this!! That being said I loved most of the songs and was perhaps only underwhelmed by that iconic "People who need people" song but maybe perhaps it was only because I was so amped to hear it for the first time in its original content. No matter how you look at it, I loved Funny Girl and loved seeing it on the big screen. If you are like me and had no experience with the Streisand of her day then do yourself a favour and watch this because you will understand a little about why she is such a legend. 9/10