To Be or Not to Be (1983)

A bad Polish actor is just trying to make a living when he's suddenly confronted with the German invasion starting World War II. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Supporting Actor: Charles Durning

I never was and probably never will be a fan of Mel Brooks. It's true, I haven't seen The Producers (68), but I did get the unfortunate chance to catch Blazing Saddles and the ones with Robin Hood and Dracula on tv and probably some others that I tried often to forget. I think his humor is clumsy and he can't decide between lack of taste and standard comedy, usually choosing something flat in the middle. To Be... is a bit different.

While I didn't go crazy for his acting, the film is enjoyable. It's silly, not strong in the screenplay, not always funny, but definitely smart. Had I seen the original 1942 version, I'm quite sure I would've disliked this, but considering I hadn't yet, I found some of the screenplay twists to be quite enjoyable and surprising. Anne is good, but the funniest is Charles Durning in a very worthy Oscar nomination. He is incredibly charming and those who aren't familiar with his funny side will be surprised.

My rating for the film: 6/10. It drops the ball towards the end, but it has it's good moments. It was relaxing, which was what I was going for. I'm strangely curious what people thought of it: Did you see it?