Gil Hates Everything

You probably know the plot. Fifty words or less: crap Broadway producer meets corruptible accountant, a plan is hatched to raise money for a deliberate flop, the appalling musical “Springtime For Hitler” is evolved, the audience loves it as a satire, and the producers end up in prison… doing the same thing again.

Wikipedia says Mel Brooks asked Jerry Herman to do the music for this, but Herman said Brooks was capable of doing it himself. The results are distinctly Hermanesque. Do I like that? Not hugely. It does mean that this looks and sounds exactly like what a mainstream audience thinks a musical should look and sound like. Let joy be unconfined.

Maybe that underlies why I don’t think this show is funny. From long experience, Mel Brooks and I, we’re just never gonna see eye-to-eye on comedy. And if you don’t think a comedy is funny, there’s not a lot left to say. There’s no point listing the things in it which I don’t like, because that’ll get irritating real fast, especially if you like it. It’s not actually the tastelessness or shock value of it (“shock value”, thirty-five years later, LOL) – I’m judgemental and I’m prudish but you’ll have to get up pretty fucking early in the morning to successfully shock me. I just… didn’t laugh much at it. Subjective comedy fail.

There: this has been a very simple review to write.

Random Panda awards this two out of ten pieces of bamboo based on my personal enjoyment. (The points are for “Betrayed”, as some of the allusions are good and doing a swift reprise of the entire show is kinda funny, and for “there was a time when I was young and gay… but straight”.) But whatever: I’m aware that if ever there was a “your mileage may vary” review, this is it, so don’t sweat it, I’m not going to cut you off if you think this is funny. Probably.

(originally posted 2009)