Broadway and Hollywood have a long history of creating stories about real life characters that play fast and loose with the truth and "Funny Girl" is no exception. If you are looking for the history of Fanny Brice or, particularly, Nick Arnstein*, then you should read a book! And, since I am just in the mood to sound like a retired history teacher....I'll just skip my complaints about the accuracy of the film! But, if you don't mind that the details are often just plain wrong, the film is exceptionally entertaining. Barbra Streisand was apparently NOT a pleasant person to work with if you read through the IMDb trivia. However, considering she'd been doing the show on Broadway for years and won the Oscar, perhaps in hindsight her diva-like demands were for the best. The film is filled with wonderful songs by her as well as a nice comedic touch. In fact, pretty much all of the film was excellent except for one odd thing--why Omar Sharif?! His singing was passable but to be playing a sophisticated Jewish con-man and gambler, Sharif just seems all wrong. Perhaps Streisand insisted because she thought his being in the film wouldn't overshadow her or would complement her character. I dunno...but it did seem odd. Aside from that, a lovely film--even with its historical lapses (for one, by the way, Streisand was just too pretty to be playing Ms. Brice).*Okay, I will go on a BIT of a rant. The real life Arnstein was from all reports a thoroughly despicable jerk. A crook, a cheat and a man who horribly used his wife. This is nothing like the likable rogue in the film who almost by accident got into trouble with the law! But, having the main character in love with scum wouldn't have been romantic, so I guess I can understand why they so thoroughly sanitized the guy.

I don't think I can watch the whole thing on TCM this minute. or ever. Tune in and listen a bit an turn away is enough. Better to listen to my CD, and get the Cast album if I can, as they dropped many songs; I've read. I am just young enough to know the name Fanny Brice, but not Nicky Arnstein; and wondered do they mean Sophie Tucker! Sounds silly but was confusing. Brice was not movie star(?) let alone to ever be possible as a TV star, out of sight out of mind.The lives of Fanny and Nicky and her family in this movie are too sanitized and fictionalized. The movie and earlier play was produced by Fanny Brice's son-in-law and was 'rigged' so to avoid what I read could have been possible lawsuits especially from Arnstein! So I do hove something against it. And there won't be a musical remake of this caliber that can be closer to the real background story.I thought they stopped making up all kinds of fictionalized characters and scenarios to sell the A- musicals of the 50s with THEN old-fashioned music standards and the THEN more "mature" stars. (Tea for Two", "Band Wagon" etc.)I have no idea what Fanny Brice sounded like. Aren't there any recordings? None of the characters ring true in my imagination - songs forced style NY Jewish-ish, and sometimes the lines and sometimes not that way, too. You need to be a Streisand or a movie musical lover to take this in and be able to swoon.

Funny Girl for me did drag in the second half and fairly badly and some of the script is contrived with some lines in the second half that may make one cringe. However, Funny Girl is a beautifully done film and without a doubt one of Barbra Streisand's best films. And Fanny Brice gets my vote as her best performance, it's a fantastic performance that was fully worthy of the joint Oscar and it is from personal view one of the greatest film debut performances ever. Her singing cannot be faulted, a big, well-supported and beautiful voice that was capable of much emotion as can be heard in My Man, and acting-wise she does do funny and poignant brilliantly, just love her facial expressions as well. Omar Shariff is handsome and ultra-smooth in his role, and the two do show some passionate chemistry together, while Mae Questel is hilarious, Kay Medford has sincere fun in her small role and Walter Pidgeon is endearingly curmudgeon. Anne Francis doesn't have a whole lot to do but is very charming. Other than Streisand the other high points are the score and songs. The score is lushly orchestrated with lots of bombastic energy and pathos without ever being syrupy. The songs are equally marvellous, the rousing Don't Rain On My Parade and the truly emotional My Man being the highlights. The way the numbers are staged are not static nor are they overblown, an achievement seeing as there are a few lengthy ones in there, People is particularly well-done in this regard. The story has pacing issues but still manages to be fun(with some very cute jokes from Streisand), charming and touching, and there are some very good production values particularly in the opulent costumes though the colourful sets and fluid cinematography are notable too. This may be the first and only musical William Wyler made but as far as directors-who-only-directed-one-musical Funny Girl does stand out as one of the better ones by quite some way, never pedestrian or heavy and there is at least a sense that he knew what he was doing. All in all, not perfect with the pacing and scripting issues but it is well worth seeing for Streisand, whose performance alone is worth two stars already. Adding the music, supporting cast, production values and how to me emotionally investing the story was Funny Girl for all its comparatively small imperfections is a great film. 9/10 Bethany Cox

For years I have heard of Barbra Streisand as an iconic and brilliant singer and actress but I can't honestly say that I've seen her in much. I have had very little Streisand experience. Cineplex running the classic movies has been such a great experience for me. I am finally seeing these amazing iconic films that I keep saying I will see but never do. Funny Girl was...simply put...fantastic. Its a moving, often funny, sweet and touching romantic musical that absolutely showcases why it is such an iconic classic. The film is very long, much longer than I think it really needs to be. Its pretty stupid of me to even say something negative about a film that has withstood 40+ years and is loved by nearly everyone but I think the movie could have easily been edited to a much tidier 2 hours or less. There were a few scenes in the film (perhaps carried over from the Broadway play) that were simply unnecessary and felt that way. I definitely enjoyed the first part of the film more than the second but it also has many different tones throughout the movie as well. The start of the movie is more comedic, the songs are more upbeat and there are more of them. The latter half of the film is emotional, even sad at times and has less songs. Regardless this was a stunning romantic film that shows you just about every part of a passionate romance from beginning to end.The person who impressed me most in the film was Barbra Streisand. Her comedic timing was amazing and her performance was absolutely worthy of her Oscar. Fanny Brice is a down to earth girl raised in meagre surroundings with a low opinion of herself. She is also insanely talented and her brash, strong personality rockets her to stardom. She is riveting on screen and her charisma is absolutely undeniable. Not to be outdone Omar Sharif is also excellent. He is suave and cool and also lights up the screen. While it would seem that Streisand and Sharif are not a good match, their chemistry is terrific. Sharif is perfect for the role and his character is so flawed and goes through so much in the course of the film. There isn't a large supporting cast but there are definitely some performances worth mentioning. Kay Medford as Streisand's mother is a lot of fun in a small but noticeable role, Walter Pidgeon as the curmudgeonly theatre producer and Mae Questel as the hilarious and sly Mrs. Strakosh.Director William Wyler is a legend. He has so many classics under his belt that its clear he knows how to create a near masterpiece. I still think the film could have been edited better but Wyler tells his story without holding back any details. This is obviously a musical but at the same time, the songs aren't the driving force behind the story. They have a distinctive place in the film (most cases are while Fanny Brice is performing) and they don't overwhelm the film so even if you're not a huge fan of musicals but love classics then you can still enjoy this!! That being said I loved most of the songs and was perhaps only underwhelmed by that iconic "People who need people" song but maybe perhaps it was only because I was so amped to hear it for the first time in its original content. No matter how you look at it, I loved Funny Girl and loved seeing it on the big screen. If you are like me and had no experience with the Streisand of her day then do yourself a favour and watch this because you will understand a little about why she is such a legend. 9/10