A Hollywood debut doesn’t come much bigger than Barbra Streisand’s Oscar-winning performance as Fanny Brice. Comedienne, singer and all-round entertainer, Brice was a true early 20th century American vaudeville star. But success on stage was not mirrored in her personal life, married as she was to debonair, seductive gambler Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif).
A big, bold musical transferred from Broadway, Funny Girl follows Brice from early Manhattan days struggling to gain a role in a local, run down burlesque show to fame and fortune via the Ziegfeld Follies. There’s snappy dialogue and comic timing aplenty in the early home-life scenes as Streisand belts out showstopping signatures such as People and Don’t Rain on My Parade. But in its 150 minute running time, energy palls as Fanny settles into wealthy loneliness and motherhood.
A self-assured Streisand commands the screen but a miscast Sharif struggles in the later half of the film as the material wears thin and settles into biographical soap opera. But all that can be forgotten with the finale and the heart-rending My Man.
Nominated for 8 Oscars in 1969 including best film, supporting actress (Kay Medford as Fanny’s mom), musical score, won 1 (best actress).
Rating: 68%
Director: William Wyler (The Big Country, Roman Holiday)
Writer: Isobel Lennart (Love Me or Leave Me, The Sundowners)
Main cast: Barbra Streisand (Yentl, The Way We Were), Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia, Dr Zhivago), Kay Medford (Swing Shift Maisie, Butterfield 8)
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