Don't expect too much out of this sequel to the fantastic musical Funny Girl. In general, sequels don't measure up to the originals, and this is no exception. For those of you who haven't seen the first one, I won't ruin the movie by telling you what this one's about. I'll just tell you it's post-Funny Girl, and let you find out what that means.Is James Caan ever likable? If Will Ferrell and Christmas can't make him likable, Barbra Streisand certainly can't. Sequels are hard enough without casting an extremely unlikable leading man in an already unlikable role. I can save you two hours and fifteen minutes by telling you Barbra doesn't make the film worthwhile. The songs aren't nearly as good, and her performances during them are downright irritating. Just as an example, she performs "I've Got a Code in My Doze" onstage, which is supposed to be a funny way of saying, "I've got a cold in my nose," which, if you think about it, makes no sense even if pronounced correctly. Save yourselves. Just watch Funny Girl twice.

Surprise! Great production numbers do not a great musical make! Like so many mediocre musicals, when the music stops, the story is lifeless in spite of a good supporting cast. It was the inevitable sequel to one of the best of its kind and did surprisingly good box office. James Caan is not Omar Sharif, although he is a good actor. While the Billy Rose songs are great, some of the new supporting songs don't measure up and sound like echos from "Funny Girl" or "Hello Dolly". The water ballet does not seem as impressive as it should be. (Yes, there really was such a show in Cleveland.) The best part of the movie is the "everything that could go wrong" run-thru of "Billy Roses Crazy Quilt". That was masterfully done and is hilarious. The last 20 minutes, which wrap everything up, are just terrible. I was left depressed and wanting more; like something was missing. "Funny Girl" was truly grand entertainment and this pales by comparison. However, the production numbers play far better on a large screen.(Note: the exterior for "NBC" was reused for "Xanadu" a few years later!)

While not without flaws Funny Girl was a wonderful film with Barbra Streisand boasting one of the finest film debuts ever. Funny Lady is nowhere near as good, but that doesn't mean it's bad because it's not. It has lovely costumes and sets, if not as opulent as those of Funny Girl, and the photography is mostly very nice, especially the use of Panavision in I Found a Million Dollar Baby in a Five and Ten Cent Store. Save a couple of exceptions, particularly in It's Gonna Be a Happy Day, the overuse of long shots gives it a rather chaotic look. The music is not as great as Funny Girl's, with the score being pleasant and paced well, and while none of the songs quite equal Don't Rain On My Parade or My Man they are fine on their equal, with the best being How Lucky Can You Get?, More Than You Know and I Found a Million Dollar Baby in a Five and Ten Cent Store. The script is amusing with a few sweet moments. Barbra is not as magical as she was in Funny Girl with Fanny having more of diva-ish attitude, but she manages the comic and dramatic(certainly better than in A Star is Born) moments very well and her singing is as gorgeous and impassioned as ever. James Caan is also good though with a character who's not easy to like at first, and they have an easy chemistry together. Omar Sharif is as charming as he was in Funny Girl, Roddy McDowell is underused but memorable and Ben Vereen has the chance to show some fancy footwork. Funny Lady is problematic, long shots overuse aside. The pacing does have a tendency to be elephantine, especially like in Funny Girl in the second half and the story is not as fun, as romantic or as touching as Funny Girl(they're evident just that Funny Girl had them much stronger) so it was not as easy to properly invest or engage with it. And if you thought the story and writing in Funny Girl was clichéd or contrived, and a fair few people do think that, Funny Lady does it worse. Herbert Ross's direction is rather clumsy as well, the direction in It's Gonna Be a Happy Day is particularly muddled and he does lose control of the story and its clichés at frequent points. Overall, a lacklustre sequel but a watchable one at least. 6/10 Bethany Cox

The 1968 film version of FUNNY GIRL was an absolute masterpiece, and as perfect as a musical-comedy film can be. A sequel to this classic was not something that was ever needed to be made, but since the original was so successful (FUNNY GIRL was the highest-grossing film of 1968) and well-loved, it was pretty obvious why producer Ray Stark wanted to make this follow-up so badly. It took awhile, but he eventually convinced Streisand to sign on and reprise her role as Fanny Brice, with Herbert Ross (who had staged the musical numbers in the original film and had directed Streisand in the box office hit THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT) set to direct. Although the film was generally well-received by most critics and proved to be another big box office hit, many fans of the sweet-natured original did not care for the slightly more harsh and cynical tone of this follow-up, and it has since fallen out of favor with many Streisand fans.While no film could ever recapture the easy charm and beautiful sentiment of FUNNY GIRL, FUNNY LADY is highly entertaining when viewed on it's own terms. Streisand plays the now-hard-bitten Fanny with a depth and maturity that is very different from her characterization in the first film, but almost equally as stunning. Many viewers often complain that James Caan was badly miscast as Billy Rose. While Caan is physically wrong for the role of the short, unattractive Rose, he still comes across as oddly likable, and he has a nice comic chemistry with Streisand. Roddy McDowell is fun as Fanny's assistant, and veteran hoofer Ben Vereen brings down the house with a incredible, almost gravity-defying dance routine. Omar Shariff also returns for two very effective scenes as Nick Arnstein, the man Fanny will always love, but can't seem to live with.Though Streisand is in terrific singing voice, the song score is a bit more hit-and-miss. The period standards that Streisand vividly performs (particularly the bittersweet "More Than You Know," the gospel-infused "Great Day," and the heart-wrenching "If I Love Again") are absolutely fantastic, however, the heavily-promoted original songs from Cabaret composers Kander and Ebb are a major disappointment. The intended show-stopper "How Lucky Can You Get" is fine number that is made memorable by Streisand's scorching performance, however, the remainder of the original songs ("Blind Date," "Let's Here It For Me") are pretty forgettable despite Streisand's impassioned vocals. Fortunately, these few mediocre numbers (and the rather predictable narrative) are flaws that are very easy to forgive. No, FUNNY LADY doesn't hold a candle to FUNNY GIRL, but the film remains a fun and enjoyable ride that should entertain those who loved the original.