Funny Girl

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This may be the only film biography in which the fledgling lead, Barbra Streisand, eclipses the star she´s portraying. Based on the life of singer and comedienne Fanny Brice, "Funny Girl" is the quintessential star vehicle for its leading lady, the 1968 movie that made Ms. Streisand famous. And while the film itself may not accurately represent the life of Ms. Brice, it makes for great, show-stopping entertainment.

Columbia TriStar´s DVD reproduces a newly restored print of the film, which includes the road-show edition´s overture and intermission music, running a little longer than its previous, videotape release. It may not be the greatest musical ever filmed, but it remains a must for lovers of cinema musicals, nonetheless.

With music and lyrics by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, "Funny Girl" debuted on Broadway in 1964 with Streisand in the lead, and it became an immediate hit. Four years later it would make the big screen, again with Streisand starring and with old movie pro William Wyler ("Wuthering Heights," "The Best Years of Our Lives," "Ben-Hur," "The Big Country") directing. It became Columbia´s highest-grossing production of the sixties. This is not to say everyone today might like it, however. Times change, and movie musicals are in a downturn. What´s more, one´s appreciation of Ms. Streisand may have changed with the times, too. That is, in 1968 she was a bright, young newcomer, and she is, indeed, brilliant in the title role. But today, she carries a lot of baggage, a lot of people adoring her, others finding in her a haughty, sometimes snobbish "star" attitude that can detract from their enjoyment of her work.

Be that as it may, Streisand is almost perfectly cast as the gifted Ms. Brice, rising up through the ranks of common music hall entertainer to fame and fortune in Florenz Ziegfeld´s Follies. Streisand not only has the chance to show off her celebrated voice but her comedic and dramatic talents as well, both on and off the stage. Actually, I know little about the real Ms. Brice except for some old radio excerpts of her "Baby Snooks" routines recorded between 1938 and 1950, much later in her career than the period this movie covers. If there is anything to criticize about Streisand´s portrayal, it´s more of a compliment. Namely, Streisand appears to be much more attractive than the real Fanny Brice, slightly marring Streisand´s "Ugly Duckling" act. "I´m a bagel on a plate of onion rolls," her character says. Mostly, though, Streisand carries it off by acting funny and continuously saying how funny-looking she is. It works well enough.

The movie´s story is not all fun and games, I might add. Since it chronicles Brice´s personal life as well as her stage life, it centers on her rocky love affair and subsequent rocky marriage to gambler Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif), who tries to lure her from the stage to his own rather casual lifestyle. This would be Sharif´s third important role of the sixties, and it may be his best. He is called upon largely to act suave and sophisticated, which he carries off nicely. But even he, described as "gorgeous" by Streisand´s Brice, pales next to Streisand herself.

As a trivia note, producers apparently didn´t trust audiences back then to accept Sharif´s natural good looks and so enhanced them with a false headpiece and caps. In "Zhivago" the makeup department went so far as to draw back his eyes with tape at the sides of his head so they would look less round. I don´t know if that was done here, too, but I wouldn´t put it past them.

The third major star of the show is Walter Pidgeon as Flo Ziegfeld. Since William Powell ("The Great Ziegfeld," 1936) had retired by 1968, Pidgeon makes a good substitute as the legendary, flamboyant, and bossy impresario. The rest of the cast is almost immaterial, but they support the main duo well as relatives, friends, and show business acquaintances.

Music lovers will appreciate the well-known array of songs the movie boasts. In order, they are "If A Girl Isn´t Pretty," "Roller Skate Rag," "I´d Rather Be Blue," "Second Hand Rose," His Love Makes Me Beautiful," "People," "You Are Woman, I Am Man," "Don´t Rain On My Parade," "Sadie, Sadie," "The Swan," "Funny Girl," and "My Man."

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