Funny Lady

Ray Stark as son-in-law of Fanny Brice continued his wife's mother's saga in Funny Lady. This film picks up where Funny Girl left off with Fanny Brice now split with Nicky Arnstein and trying to carve a career out again. Barbra Streisand as Fanny is now facing the Depression and possible ruin. Performers like Eddie Cantor and Groucho Marx were ruined by the stock market crash. When we first meet her she's in the office of Bernard Baruch who is played by Larry Gates and a good friend to have in those times, she also by chance meets his former office boy and stenographer Billy Rose who's carving quite a career of his own now.

Rose possibly because of his working with Bernard Baruch may have learned to stay out of the stock market, but he was a gambler, a conman, a promoter, all these requirements to be a Broadway producer. Apparently Brice had a thing for these kind of people. But Rose as played by James Caan isn't quite as smooth an article as former husband Nicky Arnstein.

In real life these two knew each other and worked together before the show Crazy Quilt which was a flop on Broadway only running for 79 performances. That actually because 1931 was mid-Depression wasn't bad for the time. Still the way it was a flop is as funny as either a Mack Sennett short or an extended I Love Lucy episode, you take your choice.

Omar Sharif appears again as Nicky Arnstein who Rose no matter what he does can't seem to compete against. Brice has gone on to radio and film, but still can't find the elusive personal happiness in her relationships. Her closest friend is Roddy McDowall, a fictional gay character brought into the story and he functions the way Daniel Massey does as Noel Coward in the Julie Andrews biographical film about Gertrude Lawrence, Star. Ben Vereen's character Bert Robbins is a combination of Bert Williams and Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson. Bert Williams certainly did appear with Fanny Brice in the Ziegfeld Follies, but he died in 1922. Bill Robinson so far as I know never did work with Fanny Brice.

One thing I do remember about Billy Rose, his name is on all kinds of song lyrics, a lot of which are incorporated here. Now his contributions to the writing of these songs is debatable, but he certainly could promote them, especially if they were part of a show he was doing. I do recall Vincent Youmans's family complaining bitterly about Funny Lady, saying he wrote the music for Great Day and More Than You Know and wasn't given a mention on screen.

The original songs for Funny Lady were written by John Kander and Fred Ebb. One of the Oscar nominations that Funny Lady got was for Best Original Song, another Streisand classic How Lucky Can You Get. The song was done that year also in a duet album in a nice version by Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.

The enduring popularity of the decade's greatest star Barbra Streisand appearing once again in the role that made her career, pre-sold Funny Lady to a built in audience. It holds up very well and Barbra has made Fanny Brice come alive again for another generation, even if there's more Barbra than Fanny in this film as opposed to Funny Girl.

This musical is just brutal. After the sensational soaring of FUNNY GIRL this bludgeoning sequel is what CARRY ON CLEO is to CLEOPATRA. Honestly, I thought Barbra was channeling Phil Silvers in TOP BANANA against James Caan still in Sonny Corleone mode. Or commode perhaps. The production values and the color is good but Barbra yakketyyakking at Caan's bemused head for 140 minutes just left me punch drunk. Ben Vereen leaping about and Roddy being wistful was sort of OK and some of the dance numbers were enjoyable in a cardboard way. I would actually like the see the reportedly cut scenes, especially James Caan singing "Does your chewing gum get stale on the bedpost overnight" (true) ...apparently he is playing it on a typewriter at the time, and whatever else they decided was 'not good enough' as opposed to what was already there. This even has a imitation 'Don't Rain On My Parade' number with planes trains and automobiles instead of a tug. Something this lady might have actually needed. Brutal. Clobbering. Thank God we weren't bulldozed with FUNNY GRANNY, but I guess there is still time.

There's one big musical number by an otherwise underused Ben Vereen that shows why he became a household name despite little screen work. Oh, if only that sparkle was evident in the rest of this movie! Barbra has one good splashy musical number, and a song toward the end that propels the story to its conclusion (the only song to almost live up to the music in Funny Girl).

The character of Fanny Brice is brasher and not as likable than she was in 1968. Even less likable is James Caan as the overconfident producer Billy Rose who shoves his way into Fanny's career and life. Omar Sharif he ain't, but he does have chemistry with Streisand. The fact that Billy insults Roddy McDowall (also underused) in his first scene sets the tone for how he comes across for the remainder of the film, and that's tough to endure. There's also no Kay Medford and no Walter Pigeon.

However, if one were to watch this at face value NOT KNOWING that a near-perfect original preceded it--it'd be okay, worth seeing once anyway just to know how Brice's story turns out.

As for Sharif reprising the role of Nicky Arnstein, well, his presence only reminds the viewer how much BETTER and more HEART the original film had. Their relationship could not be a more fitting metaphor for this sequel: the magic just isn't there anymore.

Let's get the biggest question out of the way: Is FUNNY LADY as good as FUNNY GIRL? Of course not, but how many movies are? This is the lively follow-up to the 1968 masterpiece, that continues Fanny's (Streisand's) story after her divorce from Nick (Sharif) and her second marriage to producer Billy Rose (James Caan).

This film was a sure-fire hit back in '75. Made on a then-hefty budget of $7 million, FUNNY LADY went on to gross over $48 million in the United States alone. Streisand and Caan have a sparkling chemistry, and Sharif is charming. Also, Roddy McDowell is memorable in a supporting role as Bobby.

The screenplay, though familiar, is surprisingly crisp with some fresh comedy bits and a bittersweet conclusion. The music isn't anywhere near as good as the original's, but there are some nice numbers including the showstopper "How Lucky Can You Get?" and the soft "More Than You Know."

FUNNY LADY is a very good movie and great sequel. Although the original is the place to start, the Streisand-Caan chemistry will give fans a good fix. Enjoy!

My score: 7 out of 10.

FAN......TAS......TIC !

Well,not quite, but still very watchable. There's a sort of hollow feeling to the whole thing, but then I sort of think that adds new character to an already well told story. We'd have certainly been cheated if they tried to re-do "funny girl" all over again. I have played the soundtrack so many times and really have never felt cheated in any way. The sequel portrays Fanny Brice as more worldly and cynical. She couldn't have possibly remained the same naive, dewy-eyed girl portrayed in the first movie. I think, as sequels go, this is well done and enjoyable...but, a sequel nevertheless. A little less magic than the original, but enjoyable on several levels.