Funny Lady

Columbia, 1975
Starring Barbra Streisand, Ben Vereen, James Caan, and Omar Sharif
Directed by Herbert Ross
Music by John Kander and others; Lyrics by Fred Ebb and others

Funny Girl proved to be so popular, it prompted one of the very few musical sequels. Streisand had one more film left to make for Girl producer Ray Stark, and it took some convincing, but she finally liked the more mature screenplay. How does the further story of Fanny Brice and her relationship with songwriter, impresario, and con man Billy Rose (Caan) look now? Let's head to New York as the Follies of 1930 is winding down and find out...

The Story: Fanny Brice (Streisand) is facing financial ruin. Ziegfeld is broke and can't get a backer for his next show. Hopeful songwriter and producer Billy Rose (Caan) manages to get a backer by promising his current mistress a role in the show, then convinces Fanny to join after she asks to record his song "More Than You'll Know." Rose, however, has no experience as a producer, keeps firing people, and spends money like water on expensive sets and costumes. The show opens as a major disaster. Fanny finally takes him aside and helps him cut the acts down to their essentials, creating a better showcase for her and fellow star Bert Robbins (Vereen).

Fanny and Billy eventually realize they have a lot in common...including both of them being phonies who can talk their way into and out of anything. Fanny, however, still has feelings for her ex-husband Nicky Arnstein (Sharif), though he's now remarried. She eventually marries Billy, but they do nothing but fight, and he eventually turns to his new star of the spectacular Aquacade Eleanor Holm (Heidi O'Rourke). Fed up with all of the men in her life, she finally comes to the conclusion that she's doing pretty well being a "funny lady" on her own, thanks to her hit Baby Snooks radio show, and divorces him.

The Song and Dance: For all the trouble they had making this film, there's some first-rate songs and performances. Streisand is fine as the tougher, more experienced Brice, especially towards the end, when she realizes that she may like Billy, but she still loves Nicky. Cinematographer James Wong Howe was brought out of retirement to take over filming. He came up with some spectacular work, especially in the "How Lucky Can You Get?" number and "Let's Hear It for Me" finale. It won Oscars for cinematography and the bright, spangled, period-accurate costumes. By far the best part is the first half, where Fanny and Billy are still feeling around each other and we see just how badly Billy's overproduced show goes off the rails.

Favorite Number: Streisand gets to belt the heck out of two great Kander & Ebb numbers, the driving "How Lucky Can You Get?" when she's lost Nicky again, and the big finale on the plane, "Let's Hear It for Me." Ben Vereen gets to show his own stuff in the colorful "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charley" as a whole orchestra of hands push to keep up with his splits and high kicks. Caan sounds surprisingly good on "Me and My Shadow" towards the end.

My favorite number takes a leaf from Fanny and cuts down to the essentials, just showcasing Fanny, Billy, and their increasing feelings about and understanding of each other in another Kander & Ebb song, "I Like Her/I Like Him," sung in counterpoint to the chorus performing Rose's most famous standard, "It's Only a Paper Moon," during the rehearsals.

Trivia: In real life, Fanny didn't have fond memories of either of her husbands after she broke up with them and fully admitted that she had the habit of falling for shifty men. Billy did have the habit of financing overstuffed shows, but they more often than not weren't hits. Crazy Quilt was fictional, but two of his most popular songs, "Great Day" and "More Than You Know," did come from a huge stage flop.

Funny Lady had its own problems. Producer Stark had to threaten to sue Streisand to get her back, and then he ended up doing some major editing to whittle the movie down to a little over two hours. Among the sequences left on the cutting room floor were more numbers with Vereen, Streisand appearing on the radio as Baby Snooks, and and dramatic scenes showing Fanny with her daughter.

What I Don't Like: Funny Lady is as ridiculously overproduced as the first version of Crazy Quilt. The story lurches from sequence to sequence with no rhyme or reason. Vereen is wasted beyond his two numbers; Caan is charming, but otherwise out of place. Like many musicals of this era, it's also way too long...and that hasty editing job shows in the disjointed plot. They probably could have done more trimming with no one the wiser.

The Big Finale: Worth seeing for the numbers alone if you're a fan of Streisand, Brice, or Vereen or really loved Funny Girl.

Home Media: Streaming is your best bet - it's expensive on disc. (I once again watched it for free on the streaming service Crackle.)

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