The Producers (2005)

  It's my ongoing mission to make my boyfriend as gay as possible.  Not really.  But that's what he thinks.  He refuses outright to watch musicals with me.  It still happens but at least he can tell himself that he fought against it.

This is one of my favorites.  It started as a classic movie by Mel Brooks with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder.  Then, it was turned into a 12-Tony-winning hit musical on Broadway and eventually back into a musical movie.  It's fantastic.  Rob loved it.  I would catch him turning around from his chair (playing Star Wars, of course) just to watch and laugh his ass off.

Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) is a Broadway producer, fallen on hard times.  His last few shows have all flopped, including his most recent "Funny Boy", a musical version of Hamlet.  He is interrupted one day by the arrival of Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick), a mousy accountant with an anxiety disorder, who is there to do his books.  Leo makes an off-hand remark that a producer, if unscrupulous, could actually make more money with a flop than with a hit.  Max is immediately on board and cajoles Leo into being his partner-in-crime.  They find the worst script possible --"Springtime for Hitler"--written by crazed ex-Nazi Franz Liebkind (Will Ferrell) as well as the worst director, Roger DeBris (Gary Beach), to make it as gay as possible.  Not even the possible rivalry over hot Swedish secretary/receptionist Ulla (Uma Thurman) can bring down the pair of perfidious producers.

Yeah, I said it.  What?

When I first heard they were making a musical based on The Producers I cringed.  I really didn't think it would be as good as the original but, God love that crazy genius, Mel Brooks actually surpassed it.  They didn't change the story; they just wrote songs to fit it.  It's awesome.  I still laugh and I've seen it a half dozen times.

Side note:  I know posts have been light the last couple of weeks.  I have mentioned the bout of depression before and I wanted to let you guys know that on Monday I officially start my new job.  That means less overall posts because I can't watch three a day any more but a much happier Lucy and, very soon, a once-more movie-buying Lucy.  This will benefit everyone.