Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Patience Watson One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

John Nail (ascheland) I first saw "Funny Lady" in 1979, when it was in heavy rotation on Showtime. At the time I loved it. Not a surprise: I was 12, in the early stages of my Barbra Streisand obsession and it was the first one of her movies I had ever seen. When it appeared on TCM recently I decided to take another look now that more than 30 years have passed, my Streisand obsession has cooled and I've since seen "Funny Girl," as well as everything else in the Streisand filmography save "Little Fockers" (you have to draw the line somewhere). I still enjoyed it, but I saw it for what it was: a contractual obligation.Streisand didn't want to make the movie — reportedly only agreeing to it when threatened with a lawsuit — and it shows in her performance, the star often appearing annoyed and impatient with the proceedings. But then, who could blame her? The story, loosely based on Fanny Brice's marriage to Billy Rose, isn't fully developed here, lazily told and clumsily directed by Herbert Ross, with montages filling in the cracks between a few dramatic moments and musical numbers. In fact, "Funny Lady" at times plays like one of those vapid vehicles Hollywood sticks singers in just to cash in on his/her popularity, like "Burlesque," to cite a recent (and much worse) example. James Caan, as Rose, is good but he and Streisand never quite click, as if the stars were filmed in separate sound stages and spliced together in the editing room. Roddy McDowell flits at the periphery in the thankless role of Fanny's gay friend/assistant; Omar Sharif reprises his role as Nicky Arnstein in what's little more than an extended cameo, his character now a money grubbing cad; and Ben Vereen is in one musical number and quickly dismissed (the rest of his role landed on the cutting room floor).I was also struck by how thrown-together the movie looked, with sets and costumes looking like castoffs from "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour" (the "Great Day" musical number in particular could just as easily have been part of Cher's Vegas performances in the '70s). And how about that final scene, set more than a decade later, with Streisand in a horrible helmet of gray hair and Caan's hair and mustache sprayed white, yet neither star looking a day older than 35.And yet Streisand can still enthrall. I loved her musical numbers, particularly her bitter rendition of "How Lucky Can You Get," the ballad "If I Love Again," and the "Don't Rain on My Parade"-wannabe, "Let's Hear it for Me." Barbra even has some good dramatic moments, particularly a somber scene where Fanny and Rose discuss their relationship after she's catches him in bed with the star of his aquatic revue, Eleanor Holm. "Funny Lady" is less a sequel to "Funny Girl" than a star vehicle. Luckily, Streisand has enough power to drive it, even though this star vehicle doesn't have much under the hood.

Jackson Booth-Millard Funny Girl was a fantastic musical, famous also for having the lead actress tie in her Oscar win with Katharine Hepburn in The Lion in Winter (because she voted for herself), so was interested to see how the sequel would fare, from director Herbert Ross (The Sunshine Boys, Footloose, The Secret of My Succe$s). Basically, set in 1930's New York, this is a set after singer and comedienne Fanny Brice (Golden Globe nominated Barbra Streisand) has divorced Nicky Arnstein (Omar Sharif). With the Depression taking effect all over the place she is finding it difficult to find work both on the stage and in recording, but then she meets songwriter and impresario Billy Rose (Golden Globe nominated James Caan), and she does find it easier. Their relationship gets very close and they eventually get married, and Fanny gains back her success in the recording studio singing the songs that he has written. There is a point when Nicky comes back to see her, but he is of course married to someone else, but she naturally still has feelings for him, and he does for her. Of course the marriage with Bill doesn't work as well as Fanny thought it would, and obviously they divorce, and supposedly she continues her success until her death. Also starring Roddy McDowall as Bobby Moore, Golden Globe nominated Ben Vereen as Bert Robbins, Carole Wells as Norma Butler, Larry Gates as Bernard Baruch, Heidi O'Rourke as Eleanor Holm, Samantha C. Kirkeby/Huffaker as Fran and Matt Emery as Buck Bolton. Streisand is a little less enthusiastic in this follow up but still nice to watch and listen to, Caan is okay as her new husband showing her the ropes, there are some catchy songs like "Let's Hear It For Me" and "I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in a Five and Ten Cent Store)", it is not as fun watch as the original film, in fact it for me was a little boring, but it isn't a completely terrible biographical musical. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Song for "How Lucky Can You Get" (also nominated the Golden Globe), Best Music for Peter Matz and Best Sound, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy and Best Original Score for John Kander and Fred Ebb. Okay!

ptb-8 This musical is just brutal. After the sensational soaring of FUNNY GIRL this bludgeoning sequel is what CARRY ON CLEO is to CLEOPATRA. Honestly, I thought Barbra was channeling Phil Silvers in TOP BANANA against James Caan still in Sonny Corleone mode. Or commode perhaps. The production values and the color is good but Barbra yakketyyakking at Caan's bemused head for 140 minutes just left me punch drunk. Ben Vereen leaping about and Roddy being wistful was sort of OK and some of the dance numbers were enjoyable in a cardboard way. I would actually like the see the reportedly cut scenes, especially James Caan singing "Does your chewing gum get stale on the bedpost overnight" (true) ...apparently he is playing it on a typewriter at the time, and whatever else they decided was 'not good enough' as opposed to what was already there. This even has a imitation 'Don't Rain On My Parade' number with planes trains and automobiles instead of a tug. Something this lady might have actually needed. Brutal. Clobbering. Thank God we weren't bulldozed with FUNNY GRANNY, but I guess there is still time.

Denny Kelly Yikes ! What a ridiculous collection of crud. Billy Rose (William Rosenberg) was just as Jewish as Fanny Brice, but this movie tried to make him into Mr.White America. Besides that (and much more important) the music is all wrong - absolutely everything is just WRONG : the arrangements, the studio recording scenes, the attitude. They have him rehearsing "It's Only A Paper Moon" in 1927, when it wasn't even WRITTEN until 1933. the whole movie is the worst example of mid-70s schlock. Haircuts are wrong, fashions are wrong, the music is wretched. It's easy enough to make a movie using real history - let's face it , most of the script was written long ago. Screwing it up without bothering to provide an interesting story is inexcusable.