Starring Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Michael Crawford, and Phil Silvers
Directed by Richard Lester
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim, one of the greatest songwriters and champions of musical theater, died on Friday. I honor his legacy and life this week with my first two reviews. Funny Thing was Sondheim's first show as a solo composer to debut on Broadway. The 1962 production wound up being a smash, thanks to a first-rate cast of Catskills comedians and a hilarious script based after the farcical comedies of Roman playwright Plautus. How does this ribald tale of a slave who'll do anything to secure his freedom...and almost gets half his neighborhood killed trying to do it...looks now? Let's begin in Rome, as Pseudolus (Mostel) introduces the major characters and the homes in question, and find out...
The Story: Pseudolus lives in a house in Rome with his master Senex (Michael Hordern), his domineering wife Domina (Patricia Jessel), their son Hero (Crawford), and the more loyal slave Hysterium (Gilford). The houses on either side of them belong to Marcus Lycus (Silvers), a seller of gorgeous female slaves, and Erronius (Buster Keaton), who is eternally searching for his children who were lost at sea.
Hero catches sight of Philla (Annette Ardre) in the window at the house of Marcus Lycus and begs Pseudolus to bring him the girl. In return, he'll give Pseudolous the freedom he so craves. Trouble is, Lycus has already sold Philla to the loud and demanding soldier Captain Milos Gloriosus (Leon Greene). Psedulous convinces Hysterium to pose as Philla and convince Miles she's dead. Miles, however, is too convinced...and then Senex shows up, and Domina decides to come home early from visiting her mother...
The Song and Dance: Fast and funny farce is in the capable hands of a pack of professional hams, former Catskills, silent, and music hall comedians who definitely know how to handle the material. Mostel and Gilford delightfully repeat their acclaimed roles as the least and most loyal slaves in Rome, Crawford is an awkwardly adorable Hero, and Hordern and Jessel have a blast as the randy old man and his tough but (mostly) loving wife. Silvers has some nice moments as Lycus, too, especially when he's posing as a leper in order to sneak into the house and figure out what Pseudolous is doing.
The production plays along with the rowdy antics by giving us a far earthier and more realistic Rome than usually seen in American films. It's one of the few musical movies that matches The Sound of Music for how well the characters inhabit their world. The characters dance and chase each others around outdoor locations in Spain that ably stand in for their Italian counterparts.
Favorite Number: Pseudolous starts off with "Comedy Tonight" as he explains each of the principals, their relationship to each other, and why he wants his freedom so badly. Hero sings to Philla that she needn't be anything but "Lovely" in a spoof of romantic duets in musicals. It's even funnier later on, when Pseudulous and Hysterium sing a reprise while dressing the latter in drag to fool Milos. "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" gets especially nutty, with Pseudulous, Hysterium, Senex, and Marcus singing about why everyone should have a cute little servant around in and around the house and all over Rome, even on a crumbling viaduct. Milos demands that Marcus "Bring Me My Bride" as he and his men parade into town, to the annoyance of the Romans who throw vegetables at them.
Trivia: Buster Keaton's last film. He was 70 and had terminal cancer at the time and was still able to do many of his own stunts, including running into the tree and rolling back up again.
The Broadway show was a huge success that ran two years. It's seen two major revivals in New York, with Silvers as Psedulous in 1972 and Nathan Lane in the role in 1996. It went over well in London too in 1963 and was popular enough to also be revived twice there, in 1986 and 2004.
"Comedy Tonight" wasn't originally part of the show. The opening number out of town was a ballad...but it was too slow to start a wacky comedy. Sondheim wrote "Comedy" at the last minute, and it finally put the show over.
What I Don't Like: First of all, the movie is way too long at almost two hours. The continual farce and everyone running all over the place gets a bit wearying after a while, especially once Milos and his booming voice and sex-crazed men enter the picture. It can be hard to keep track of all the characters and whom is in love with whom. For all the very real cinematography, the material frequently has more of the feel of a play, with the cast ducking in and out of doors and playing to the audience.
A lot of songs were cut from the stage version. In the show, everyone sings, including Domina and Senex. Lycus, Philla, Hero, and Hysterium all lost solos that went a long way towards fleshing out their characters, and in the case of Lycus, that of his ladies.
The Big Finale: Highly recommended for fans of classic comedy and Sondheim lovers with time on their hands.
Home Media: Easily found in all major formats.
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