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THE PRODUCERS Mel Brooks' 1968 movie was resurrected by the comic legend himself as a Broadway musical that scored with critics and audiences alike. That another movie version would follow is no surprise; what's startling is how the picture plays as little more than a static filming of the stage play, barely more mobile than those one-set Shakespeare dramatizations that used to pop up regularly on PBS. Yet director Susan Stroman's staging is by no means a death blow. On the contrary, The Producers functions in much the same way as the recent screen adaptation of Rent by emphasizing melody and mirth over movement -- in fact, it works even better thanks to the presence of master ham Nathan Lane. In the Gene Wilder role of the timid accountant Leo Bloom, Matthew Broderick strains too hard to be funny; Lane, on the other hand, is a riot in the Zero Mostel part of Max Bialystock, the struggling producer who determines that a dreadful show called Springtime for Hitler is his ticket to riches. Rating: ***
OPENS FRIDAY, JANUARY 27:
ANNAPOLIS: James Franco, Tyrese Gibson.
BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE 2: Martin Lawrence, Nia Long.
THE MATADOR: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear.
NANNY MCPHEE: Emma Thompson, Colin Firth.
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