Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Funny Girl
Adapted from the Broadway musical about the life of Fanny Brice, the Jewish comedienne and singer who grew up poor on New York's Lower East Side and became a star with the Ziegfeld Follies, this 1968 film made a new star of Barbra Streisand. The romantic plot involves Brice's marriage to and eventual divorce from her first husband, smooth gambler Nick Arnstein (Sharif). It's pretty loose as biography and a bit long at 151 minutes, but rich in music and emotion as Streisand belts out songs from "People" and "Don't Rain on My Parade" to "My Man." It was also the penultimate of 69 films by director William Wyler, who long before had done "Ben-Hur," "Wuthering Heights," and "The Best Years of Our Lives."
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
This is the story of a woman who becomes a famous actress.
--Cal Tormey, Resident Scholar
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Analysis of Funny Girl
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1900-1920's
Job/Profession/Poverty Story?
Yes
Job:
- performer or comedian
- actor
Strong "rags to riches" component?
Yes
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- actor
- singer/musician
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (woman) short/butch/lez
Body type
- (woman) skinny
Events of movie makes character more...
- happy
- sad
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
- Jewish
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average build
How much in movie?
- 60%
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- general circumstances
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- producer/director
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 80%
Hair color
- white
Body type
- (man) average
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Water?
Yes
Water:
- pleasure/love boat
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
- dirty, grimy (like New York)
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
- theater
- bar
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- very happy
Any profanity?
- None
If lots of song/dance...
- lot of singing
- lot of singing and dancing
If this is a kid's movie...
- Ages 10-15
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Broadway musical
Is this movie based on a
- play
