Main Cast: Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall, Ben Vereen
Release Year: 1975
Country: US
Run Time: 136 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Funny Lady, the follow-up to the 1968 Funny Girl which made a movie star of Barbra Streisand, picks up the character of Fanny Brice in the 1930s. Although she is a tremendously famous Broadway star, she has suffered from the stock market crash and needs to boost her finances. Even Ziegfeld, who soon will pass away, is having a hard time raising money for a show. Into this scene bursts brash young Billy Rose (James Caan), an egotistical lyricist with unrestrained ambition. He cajoles and charms Fanny into linking up with him, convincing him that he can produce a revue that will showcase her to their mutual advantage. Out of town, the show is an unmitigated disaster, and Fanny uses her professional know-how to whip the show into shape. It arrives in New York a hit -- and Fanny and Billy arrive an item. Both of their careers blossom, but even though they marry, their relationship suffers. Fanny still carries a torch for first husband Nick (Omar Sharif), and Billy, partially because of insecurities caused by Fanny's feelings for Nick, has a roving eye. In California working on a lucrative radio show, Fanny and Nick connect again -- and Fanny realizes that she is finally over him. Thrilled, she flies to Cleveland, where Billy is working on a new show, ready to commit herself totally to him -- only to find him in bed with another woman. The two part, but years later they meet again to discuss a new show, and it's clear that the chemistry between them is still there. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Review
Funny Lady, the popular sequel to Funny Girl, is quite entertaining, despite an overly familiar story. Funny Girl's story was no more original, but the determined energy of film novice Barbra Streisand, combined with the superb work of director William Wyler, made the clichés less obvious. Here, Herbert Ross' direction is more professional and capable than inspired, and Streisand's performance is assured and polished rather than dazzling, with the result that the screenplay's flaws are more apparent. Streisand has her part down pat by now and she knows what buttons to push and when to push them. The physical characteristics are all there -- the practiced tilting of the head, the stiffening of the jaw as she rolls a lyric around before spitting it out, the thrusting of the arms -- but they're put to good use and come across as less mannered than they do at other times. Vocally, she's great; "How Lucky Can You Get?" seethes, "Let's Hear It for Me" is wonderfully joyous, and "Isn't This Better" is a lovely, melancholy portrait of a woman who can't admit she's fooling herself. James Caan is stuck with a fairly thankless role, but makes the most of it -- and is one of Streisand's better sparring partners. Many of the musical numbers are unfortunately truncated, but the big production number, "Great Day," is presented whole, to good effect. On the whole, Funny Lady's virtues make up for its shortcomings. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Carole Wells - Norma Butler; Larry Gates - Bernard Baruch; Heidi O'Rourke - Eleanor Holm; Samantha Huffaker - Fran; Matt Emery - Buck Bolton; Joshua Shelley - Painter; Corey John Fischer - Conductor; Garrett Lewis - Production Singer; Don Torres - Man At Wedding; Raymond Guth - Buffalo Handler; Eugene Troobnick - Ned; Royce Wallace - Adele; Paul Bryar; Colleen Camp - Billy's Girl; Lilyan Chauvin; Cliff Norton; Ken Sansom; Byron Webster
Credit
Betty Walberg - Choreography, Ray Aghayan - Costume Designer, Bob Mackie - Costume Designer, Shirley Strahm - Costume Designer, Herbert Ross - Director, Marion Rothman - Editor, Maury Winetrobe - Editor, Fred Ebb - Composer (Music Score), John Kander - Composer (Music Score), Peter Matz - Composer (Music Score), Peter Matz - Musical Arrangement, Peter Matz - Musical Direction/Supervision, George Jenkins - Production Designer, James Wong Howe - Cinematographer, Raymond Stark - Producer, Audrey Blasdel-Goddard - Set Designer, Albert J. Whitlock - Special Effects, Jack Solomon - Sound/Sound Designer, Curly Thirlwell - Sound/Sound Designer, Jay Presson Allen - Screenwriter, Arnold Schulman - Screenwriter, Arnold Schulman - Book Author
Although she was contractually bound to make one more film for producer Ray Stark (Fanny Brice's one-time son-in-law), Streisand balked at doing the project. She told Stark "that it would take litigation to make her do a sequel." However, Streisand liked the script, which showed Fanny to be "...tougher, more acerbic, more mature...", and she agreed to do the film.[1][2]
The first actor to read for the role of Billy Rose was Robert Blake. Other actors were mentioned, including Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, but ultimately James Caan was chosen. Streisand explained: "It comes down to whom the audience wants me to kiss. Robert Blake, no. James Caan, yes."[2]
Stark, unhappy with the scenes shot by the original cinematographer, lured an ailing James Wong Howe out of retirement to complete the film. It proved to be his final project, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.[3]
Studio heads forced Ross to trim the film to a manageable 136 minutes prior to its release. Much of Vereen's performance ended up on the cutting room floor, together with a recreation of Brice's "Baby Snooks" radio show and dramatic scenes involving her and her daughter.[4]
In addition to Howe, Oscar nominations went to Ray Aghayan and Bob Mackie for Best Costume Design, John Kander and Fred Ebb for Best Original Song ("How Lucky Can You Get?"), Peter Matz for Best Scoring of an Original Song Score and/or Adaptation, and the sound crew. Streisand, Caan, and Vereen all received Golden Globe Award nods, as did Kander and Ebb and the film itself, but it was shut out of any wins in both competitions.[5]
Box Office
For a sequel at the time the film was a big success however received mixed reviews and was only a moderate commercial success. In the US alone the film grossed $39,000,000[6] at the box office and $20,000,000 in rentals totalling $59,000,000[7]. With inflation in 2007, the films gross totals $225,000,000.
