Nicole
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
gavin6942
Weird-faced Fanny Brice (Barbra Streisand) rises to stardom on the New York Vaudeville Stage and maintains a turbulent marriage with suave gambler Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif).So maybe this is supposed to be one of the classics. I appreciate the attempt to tell the story of Fanny Brice... but geez, this is just bad. I am sorry that everyone in the world disagrees, but wow. First of all, way too long. I don't mind overtures and intermissions... but for this? And Streisand... just awful. Who thinks she's a good actress? Wow.I feel bad rating this so low, but it just was not enjoyable... it was almost unbearable to watch. I would not recommend this to anyone, even my worst enemies.
Blake Peterson
"Show me an actress who isn't a personality and you'll show me a woman who isn't a star," declared Katharine Hepburn when asked about her smashing screen persona. Humble, no. Correct, yes. Take any legendary performer — Humphrey Bogart, Joan Crawford, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe — and you will not only find a terrific actor but also a presence that could interrupt the breathing patterns of an entire room just by walking through a door. And if you don't inspire that same breathless room to immediately bow down in a we're-not-worthy Wayne's World dramatization, then you probably aren't a star.Fortunately for us, fortunately for Funny Girl, but unfortunately for the self-proclaimed icon herself, Katharine Hepburn, Barbra Streisand just so happens to be a star — a star that, incidentally, matched Hepburn's explosive performance in The Lion in Winter so well that the two ended up tying for the Oscar win. Now that Funny Girl and The Lion in Winter are nearly a half-century old, it's probably safe to say that Hepburn and Streisand are unofficial gods of the entertainment industry; but Funny Girl is the more important film, introducing the world to a new voice, a new actress, and yes, a new personality.In the years since Funny Girl, Streisand hasn't lost her bewitching zeal, but only a few of her following films have captured the same sort of youthful gusto of her debut. The early days of Babs, with roles in What's Up, Doc? and The Owl and the Pussycat, bring lasting joy. Like many actresses that appeal to the Broadway inclined crowd, she is more fun to watch in quickly-paced adventures in comedy than sappy behemoths like The Mirror Has Two Faces. Funny Girl is a snapshot of everything we've come to admire about Streisand — that immediate likability, that one-million- miles-an-hour comedic timing, those dramatic chops, and that voice. You can bet that the film itself is given the standard Hollywood musical treatment — but what isn't standard is the girl from New Yawk with charisma the size of Alaska and Texas put together.Funny Girl is technically a true story: its leading character, Fanny Brice was, in fact, a famed Ziegfeld girl, and she was, in fact, married to Nicky Arnstein. But Streisand is such a ball-of-fire that we aren't paying much attention to Brice's accomplished (and melodramatic) life. Streisand demolishes every confine a characterization can bring. She's not so much playing Fanny Brice as she much as she is Fanny Brice. She doesn't act out a scene; she is the scene.I suppose for the sake of a plot summary I should cover the basics so you know what you're getting into. The film travels across the life of Brice from the early 1900s to the beginnings of the 1920s, detailing her whirlwind (and lasting) relationship with show business and stormy marriage to gambler Nicky Arnstein (Omar Sharif). There's comedy and music and tear-jerking and romance and overtures and more hoohas that come along with the big-budgeted movie musical genre; Funny Girl has all the makings to become an epic production of the Sound of Music class. But Streisand keeps the film from getting whisked away into unremarkable giganticness. The film is about her, not its supporting characters, photography, or set design. Roger Ebert noted that everything other than Streisand is mostly flat. While this is partially true, I think, on the other hand, that if Streisand wasn't the star, suddenly the supporting characters, photography, and set design would seem bigger-than-life, extraordinary even. But she's like a blinding light from outer space running around a soundstage; you can only wonder why the items surrounding her don't spontaneously combust.I'm not a part of the devoted fan base that refers to Streisand exclusively as "Babs" and lists "Evergreen" as their theme song, but I am a part of the fan base that recognizes her as one of cinema's most unique and versatile actresses. Funny Girl is a loud and proud musical, and Streisand is the microphone. Read more reviews at petersonreviews.com
Robert W.
For years I have heard of Barbra Streisand as an iconic and brilliant singer and actress but I can't honestly say that I've seen her in much. I have had very little Streisand experience. Cineplex running the classic movies has been such a great experience for me. I am finally seeing these amazing iconic films that I keep saying I will see but never do. Funny Girl was...simply put...fantastic. Its a moving, often funny, sweet and touching romantic musical that absolutely showcases why it is such an iconic classic. The film is very long, much longer than I think it really needs to be. Its pretty stupid of me to even say something negative about a film that has withstood 40+ years and is loved by nearly everyone but I think the movie could have easily been edited to a much tidier 2 hours or less. There were a few scenes in the film (perhaps carried over from the Broadway play) that were simply unnecessary and felt that way. I definitely enjoyed the first part of the film more than the second but it also has many different tones throughout the movie as well. The start of the movie is more comedic, the songs are more upbeat and there are more of them. The latter half of the film is emotional, even sad at times and has less songs. Regardless this was a stunning romantic film that shows you just about every part of a passionate romance from beginning to end.The person who impressed me most in the film was Barbra Streisand. Her comedic timing was amazing and her performance was absolutely worthy of her Oscar. Fanny Brice is a down to earth girl raised in meagre surroundings with a low opinion of herself. She is also insanely talented and her brash, strong personality rockets her to stardom. She is riveting on screen and her charisma is absolutely undeniable. Not to be outdone Omar Sharif is also excellent. He is suave and cool and also lights up the screen. While it would seem that Streisand and Sharif are not a good match, their chemistry is terrific. Sharif is perfect for the role and his character is so flawed and goes through so much in the course of the film. There isn't a large supporting cast but there are definitely some performances worth mentioning. Kay Medford as Streisand's mother is a lot of fun in a small but noticeable role, Walter Pidgeon as the curmudgeonly theatre producer and Mae Questel as the hilarious and sly Mrs. Strakosh.Director William Wyler is a legend. He has so many classics under his belt that its clear he knows how to create a near masterpiece. I still think the film could have been edited better but Wyler tells his story without holding back any details. This is obviously a musical but at the same time, the songs aren't the driving force behind the story. They have a distinctive place in the film (most cases are while Fanny Brice is performing) and they don't overwhelm the film so even if you're not a huge fan of musicals but love classics then you can still enjoy this!! That being said I loved most of the songs and was perhaps only underwhelmed by that iconic "People who need people" song but maybe perhaps it was only because I was so amped to hear it for the first time in its original content. No matter how you look at it, I loved Funny Girl and loved seeing it on the big screen. If you are like me and had no experience with the Streisand of her day then do yourself a favour and watch this because you will understand a little about why she is such a legend. 9/10
