THE PRODUCERS — ** — Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman; rated PG-13 (vulgarity, profanity, slapstick violence, brief sex, racial epithets, nude artwork); Century Theatres Salt Lake; Century Theatres Union Heights; Cinemark 24 at Jordan Landing; Megaplex 12 at the Gateway; Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons.

In "The Producers," producer Max Bialystock and accountant Leopold Bloom deliberately try to stage the biggest stage disaster in Broadway history.

Ironically, acclaimed choreographer Susan Stroman appears to be doing almost the same thing with the big-screen version of the Tony-winning Broadway smash. Her direction is overly broad, with little-to-no subtlety. And while that approach may have worked on stage, the constant mugging and smirking makes the film version nearly insufferable.

The movie is also much too long, especially when you consider that the original 1968 movie that inspired it was 88 minutes long (this is nearly an hour longer).

Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprise their roles as Max and Leo, respectively. Max is coming off the worst failure of his career — a musical version of "Hamlet" titled "Funny Boy," which opened and closed the same night.

Leo, who's looking into Max's financial statements, innocently suggests that there may be more money to be had from producing a dud. So the enterprising producer hatches a get-rich-by-failing scheme and drags the wishy-washy Leo into it with him.

To succeed, they have to find the worst play ever written and believe they've got it with the insensitive and offensive "Springtime for Hitler," which was written by Nazi sympathizer Franz Liebkind (Will Ferrell). Then they have to assemble a team featuring the worst possible director and cast.

One of the would-be stars is Ulla (Uma Thurman), an alluring Swede who becomes their secretary and threatens to come between them.

Though Stroman directed the stage version, she is the wrong choice for this adaptation. Again, her direction shows no subtlety, and she encouraged line readings so loud and frantic that the lines might as well be accompanied by exclamation points.

Surprisingly, both Lane and Broderick are the biggest culprits there, and their best moments are musical ones rather than comic bits.

On the supporting side, stage veteran Gary Beach does get a few laughs as cross-dressing director Roger De Bris. But the revelatory performance may be Thurman's. She shows real aptitude for song-and-dance routines.

"The Producers" is rated PG-13 for crude and sexually suggestive humor and dialogue (including song lyrics), scattered use of profanity, slapstick and other comic violence, brief sexual contact, racial epithets and glimpses of nude artwork. Running time: 134 minutes.

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