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BrettHarrison's Review

Summary - Good 3.0

If there was an Academy Award category called Good Intentions, “To Be Or Not To Be” would have won hands down when it came out. After all, how can you fault anybody for wanting the remake of the great film comedies of all time.

But it doesn’t work. Mel Brooks, who stars and produces, went way overboard to rein in his tasteless tendencies to the point where the film is just too reverent and sort of forgets that the original was pretty edgy for its time.

But it does have its good parts. Charles Durning is wonderful as the bad guy that he was nominated for an Oscar that year and Brooks and Bancroft(who were married in real life) have such good on screen chemistry you wonder why they didn’t make more movies together.

Cool trivia: Alan Johnson directed one of his only two movies here. He was the brilliant choreographer responsible for the synchronized insanity of the “Springtime for Hitler” sequence in Brooks’ classic “The Producers”

Acting - Very Good 3.5

The acting is not really the problem here. In fact, Durning is wonderful.

Male Stars - Very Good 3.5

Female Stars - Very Good 3.5

Female Costars - Very Good 3.5

Male Costars - Very Good 3.5

Film - Good 3.0

Direction - Good 3.0

Dialogue - Good 3.0

Music - Good 3.0

Visuals - Good 3.0

Edge - Tame 1.5

Sex Innocent 1.5

Violence Gentle 1.5

Rudeness Polite 1.5

Reality - Natural 1.0

Circumstantial - Natural 1.0

Biological - Natural 1.0

Physical - Natural 1.0

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