There seem to be three breeding grounds for movies these days: ones based on books, ones on television shows and sequels. On occasion, one will be based on a stage production: Amadeus, Chicago and the recent Proof come to mind. But how about this: a film based on a stage musical based on a movie? Confusing, yes, but it has happened with The Producers.

Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) is a has-been Broadway producer whose recent shows usually close the night they open, forcing him to resort to hustling little old ladies for cash. Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick) is a neurotic accountant who, upon visiting Max, casually mentions a scheme tailor-made for producers who can only make flops: raise far more money than you need, then make sure the show is despised. The show closes immediately and you keep the extra cash you raised. Max loves the idea, Leo regrets thinking out loud. Leo refuses to go any further with the idea, until Max talks him into joining him.

They produce a musical called Springtime for Hitler, written by escaped Nazi Franz Liebken (Will Ferrell) directed by the flamboyant Roger De Bris (Gary Beach) and starring as their female lead, a rather ditzy Swedish bombshell named Ulla (Uma Thurman). With such non-talent in place, what could go wrong with the boys' plan? Well...

I never got a chance to catch the Broadway version of The Producers, but I have seen the 1968 original film quite a few times, laughing non-stop from start to finish every time. The teaming of Gene Wilder, Zero Mostel and Mel Brooks' delightfully over-the-top screenplay and directing is a comedic recipe that never grows stale. When I heard that the film was being turned into a musical, I began having my suspicions that a real-life Bialystock and Bloom were at work. Even with the play's critical, financial and award success, I still had my doubts about this new version.

Susan Stroman, director of the original 2001 stage production making her film directing debut here, has a little trouble shaking off her stage origins. A lot of the film moves and feels like live theater, not necessarily a good thing for a movie. Every so often, an actor will deliver a line accompanied by the awkward pause one would find after an actor delivers the punch line to a joke. Fortunately, she knows the source material well enough to make the film work overall, remaining faithful to Brooks' still funny and decidedly un-pc (Amen, Mel!) material while delivering musical numbers are both hilarious and have a great kick to them.

Despite the occasional pregnant pause, she also yields fine performances from her cast. It took me about 10-15 minutes to warm up to Broderick's portrayal of the nebbish accountant, but I had no such problem with Lane's turn as Bialystock, which is not only a career best for Lane but is also one of the most enjoyable performances of the year. He delivers his one-liners and double entendres with perfect precision (you can almost picture the late Zero Mostel approvingly grinning from ear to ear), and his chemistry with Broderick is terrific.

The duo are backed by terrific support from Gary Beach and Roger Bart, who play De Bris and his even more flamboyant assistant, Carmen Ghia, respectively. Will Ferrell is over-the-top but still very funny as Liebkind , while Thurman, looking stunning-as always-makes for an okay Ulla. Not to fault the talented actress, but Ulla is the one character from the original that really shouldn't have been expanded upon.

To paraphrase the lyrics of Springtime For Hitler, don't you be a fascist smarty, come and join The Producers party. It might be a bit stiff and a tad overlong, but chances are that you'll be laughing too much to either notice or care.

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