Surprise! Great production numbers do not a great musical make! Like so many mediocre musicals, when the music stops, the story is lifeless in spite of a good supporting cast. It was the inevitable sequel to one of the best of its kind and did surprisingly good box office. James Caan is not Omar Sharif, although he is a good actor. While the Billy Rose songs are great, some of the new supporting songs don't measure up and sound like echos from "Funny Girl" or "Hello Dolly". The water ballet does not seem as impressive as it should be. (Yes, there really was such a show in Cleveland.) The best part of the movie is the "everything that could go wrong" run-thru of "Billy Roses Crazy Quilt". That was masterfully done and is hilarious. The last 20 minutes, which wrap everything up, are just terrible. I was left depressed and wanting more; like something was missing. "Funny Girl" was truly grand entertainment and this pales by comparison. However, the production numbers play far better on a large screen.(Note: the exterior for "NBC" was reused for "Xanadu" a few years later!)
Review of Funny Lady
