Funny Girl (1968)
Directed by William Wyler

Film Review

Having triumphed in Ray Stark's original Broadway production of Funny Girl in 1964, Barbra Streisand reprised the leading role in this lavish film adaptation, and in doing so cemented her international reputation as a singer, comedienne and actress.  Although Streisand would later become something of a bête-noire for the critics on account of her burgeoning egomania, at the start of her career she was justly feted as one of the greatest musical talents of her generation.  Her performance in Funny Girl is by far her finest; not only does she pack as much emotion and colour into each of her numbers as it is possible for any one human being to do, she also plays her character with a devastating sense of reality.  She doesn't just act the part, she lives it, and pulls off the impossible stunt of being funny one minute and heart-breaking the next.  Funny Girl and Streisand's subsequent musical hit Hello, Dolly! (1969) show the singer-actress at the peak of her talents - there really was no one to rival her.  After this, it was pretty much downhill all the way.  The greatest enemy of talent is success.

Funny Girl not only marked Streisand's film debut, it was also the first film musical to be directed by William Wyler.  One of Hollywood's most versatile and distinguished filmmakers, Wyler had almost reached the end of his career by the time he was chosen to direct Funny Girl, having won acclaim for such films as Wuthering Heights (1939), Roman Holiday (1953) and Ben-Hur (1959).  Wyler's direction may not be flawless, but he turns in a highly respectable musical, in which the musical numbers emerge naturally from the drama rather than (as was often the case) being thrown in without any thought or logic. 

Omar Sharif is a bizarre choice for the leading male role but somehow he works well alongside Streisand (who, let's face it, has charisma and balls enough for two).  Walter Pidgeon provides some classy backup to compensate for Sharif's lack of screen presence and has the best scenes with Streisand (mirroring the leading lady's frequent on-set battles with director Wyler during the production).  With such memorable numbers as Second Hand Rose, People, Don't Rain on My Parade and My Man, Funny Girl deserves its reputation as one of the last of the great Hollywood musicals.  The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including categories of Best Picture and Best Cinematography, but won only one award, for Best Actress (Barbra Streisand, tying with Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter).  In 1975, Streisand starred in a sequel, Funny Lady, alongside James Caan - a far less distinguished musical which badly lacks the bravura sparkle and emotional depth of the original.

Film Synopsis

New York City, circa 1910.  Fanny Brice, a girl from the slums, has ambitions to be a star of vaudeville, and it is her wild enthusiasm that lands her her first stage job with a theatre company.  A handsome professional gambler named Nicky Arnstein gives her career a nudge in the right direction and in no time Fanny is working for the great theatre manager Florenz Ziegfeld, the star of his world-famous Ziegfeld Follies.  Success does not by itself bring happiness - that comes only when Nicky finally agrees to marry Fanny, having made his fortune at the gambling tables.  As Fanny's career flourishes after WWI, Nicky becomes increasingly indebted and ends up on the wrong side of the law...