In the 90s, Disney became known for releasing direct-to-TV sequels that felt like cheap cash grabs on beloved classics. Ever heard of The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea or Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas? If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky. These low-budget productions featured familiar characters in small, awkward conflicts that often contradicted their original stories. They had some returning voice cast members, but never really justified their existence, leaving them largely forgotten. Funny Lady took a similar route, but instead of being low-budget, it’s a lavish, overstuffed production that people went to see in theaters. In the end, it traps Barbra Streisand in a sequel that does a disservice to the first film, filled with inferior songs and frustrating character choices.
This sequel to the hit Funny Girl finds Fanny Brice dealing with the fallout from her Broadway success during the Great Depression. Now, she’s facing a divorce from her estranged husband, Nicky Arnstein, while trying to find her next big break. Joining Streisand is James Caan as Billy Rose, a man eager to help her regain her spotlight. Their partnership is filled with challenges, including poor artistic choices in their show, threats from mobsters and money issues.
There is no other way of saying: the story is a mess. Fanny comes off more like an object for the men around her, constantly yelling about how big of a star she is (the charm of Funny Girl was watching her grow and achieve that fame). The movie doesn’t decide in one plot to follow the first film’s story so ends up choosing three. There’s a new romance with Billy Rose, which starts strong (his introduction scene is the only good scene of the film) but quickly loses focus. Other than his constant change of personality, their relationship feels more like something out of a 40s movie, where all we see is the couple fighting, but are supposed to believe that they are in love. The second plot is about Fanny’s resurgence. Here the film doesn’t really show Fanny struggling professionally, she even claims everyone wants to work with her, making the plot confusing as if she is doing it all just as a favor.
The third plot is about her coping with her divorce and finding her voice. Omar Sharif returns from the first film as Fanny’s lover, appearing in three scenes that just bloat the plot without adding anything meaningful. In one argument, Fanny mentions Nicky Arnstein never asking about their daughter. What daughter? She barely appears in the film! It’s like the movie forgot about her, too!
While the film contains some musical performances that are somewhat entertaining, it often feels like it’s just throwing money at flashy production numbers to showcase Streisand’s star power. Funny Lady keeps trying to remind audiences of the far better original with recurring score melodies and even flashbacks, but that only makes you wish you were watching that instead. The visuals are impressive, and you can see the money spent on the sets, especially the musical numbers, which are grand. The costumes are also stunning. A large orchestra tries to bring energy to the film, but the messy plot and forgettable songs (I couldn’t remember a single one) keep it from succeeding. It’s ironic that even back in 1975, studios were already milking money out of unnecessary sequels.