FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Jon Corelis This is a film version of an early 1960s Sondheim Broadway musical with some members of the theatrical production. The story, concerning the machinations of a clever slave (Zero Mostel) manipulating his master, household, and neighbors in a plan to gain his freedom, is based on an ancient Latin comedy by Plautus. Phil Silvers as a procurer and Leon Greene as a bombastic Roman conqueror are standouts -- the latter's narcissistic introductory aria is, I think, a high point.The film has gotten mixed reviews: some don't like that many songs from the musical were left out of the movie; others have considered Lester's slapstick comic style, while vigorous, to lack depth. But the film, while not a great classic, is undoubtedly entertaining, and fans of the Classics or of things Roman will have fun seeing how the Plautine background is used.I found the Kino Lorber Blu-Ray DVD faintly disappointing: there's nothing wrong with it, but it seemed to lack the surprisingly vivid and deep images that a good Blu-Ray can bring you. Maybe they needed a better original print. I haven't seen a standard DVD version of this, though, so I don't have a basis for comparison.

Petri Pelkonen The story is set in the ancient Rome.Pseudolys, a lazy slave wants nothing more than to be free.He gets that chance when he finds out that the young master has fell in love.The girl is Philia, a virgin in the house of Lycus, a slave dealer who sells beautiful women.If Pseudolys gets the two lovebirds together, he's free.A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a very funny musical comedy.Zero Mostel is brilliant in the lead.There's also the silent comedy legend Buster Keaton there.It's most hilarious when Senex meets the goddess Philia at the door.And they tell him she's the new maid.Or Lycus doing acrobatics.The chariot race is really something.The song heard in this movie is really catchy.Something familiar, something peculiar, something for everyone: a comedy tonight.

bkoganbing It's ironic that just as Stephen Sondheim was establishing himself as both composer and lyricist on Broadway, musicals just stopped being made except on rare occasions. As a result most of Sondheim's work is sadly not filmed. In any event we don't have the musical stars on screen to do the roles justice.So in his first effort at writing both music and lyrics we're lucky indeed to have A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum on the big screen. A cut down version to be sure in terms of songs, but still a tribute to Sondheim in a fashion.The accent is more on comedy however and you cannot give enough praise to both Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford who were the only two from the Broadway cast to repeat their roles. In fact I can't conceive of A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum being made without Mostel. He dominates the proceedings and that's not easy considering his main co-star is Phil Silvers. Phil Silvers was supposed to be on Broadway, but would not do the part on stage because he could not wear his glasses. Those were not just a comic prop, the man was terribly nearsighted. As a result his part was played by John Carradine. Who'd have ever thought those two would have been up for the same part?Another movie veteran the garrulous Raymond Walburn played the wandering Erronius and his part was played by the great stone face Buster Keaton in what turned out to be his farewell performance.Richard Lester the director comes in for a lot praise as well. The way he maximized the use of the screen you can hardly tell the stage origins of this show. Certainly that wild and crazy chariot race at the end could not have been done on stage. It's a great sequence even if the idea originated in the Eddie Cantor film, Roman Scandals.This movie was also the return of Zero Mostel to the screen after the blacklist. Mostel previously had done some really nice character parts, he stands out in those two Humphrey Bogart films, The Enforcer and Sirocco and was really good as Jack Palance's lapdog companion in Panic In The Streets. But when he could not get work in Hollywood, he returned to nightclubs and the theater where he obtained real stardom. One of the many Tony Awards A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum won was for Zero Mostel as Best Actor.On Broadway the show ran for 964 performances from 1962-1964 and also won a Tony for Best Musical. I haven't even described the plot because it's impossible. It revolves essentially around young Hiero, played by Michael Crawford to get the woman he loves who happens to work over at Phil Silvers's pleasure house and his family slave Zero Mostel to obtain his freedom. That's as far as I can go.As another movie icon expressed, fasten your seatbelts, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum is a wild and bumpy ride.

dglink Boasting a priceless cast, a catchy score, and frenetic direction, Richard Lester's film adaptation of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" is solidly entertaining and should not be judged for what could have been. Granted, many of Stephen Sondheim's songs from the stage production were cut, but fans of the original can catch the complete work in frequent revivals. Utilizing the rapid-fire editing and inventive screen compositions that revolutionized teen musicals in his two Beatles' films, Lester pumped up "Forum's" adrenaline and created a work that could never be anything but a movie. Crammed with sight gags and slapstick, many drawn from silent comedies, the movie was appropriately Buster Keaton's last film, and he left us laughing. In addition to Keaton, the irreplaceable trio of Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, and Jack Gilford are hysterical, and each member of the talented supporting cast, which includes Michael Hordern, Patricia Jessel, and Michael Crawford, has their moment.The art direction by Tony Walton is a beautiful and sometimes humorous evocation of a fanciful Ancient Rome, and Richard Williams's closing title sequence is worth waiting for. "Forum" speeds along at a breakneck pace and may exhaust some viewers. However, few will be bored. Sondheim purists will not be pleased, but those who love silent comedy will revel in the homages. While certainly not a definitive adaptation of the stage musical, Lester's version has enough merit to be sparkling entertainment and a treasure trove of inspired comic performances.