William Wyler's Funny Girl collapses under its own weight despite containing what is, quite simply, one of the greatest musical performances of all time. Barbra Streisand is pitch perfect as Fanny Brice. She knocks each song into the stratosphere and gives the performance of her career. She deserved her Oscar for Best Actress. But man oh man, does the second half drag. Her story just isn't as interesting once she becomes an established star and starts going gaga for Nicky Arnstein (Omar Sharif), a self-centered good-for-nothing with smoldering good looks but the personality of damp cardboard. The second half only has one decent musical number: the finale. I wish I loved this movie as much as I loved Streisand's performance. But I guess I'll just have to add this to the list of mediocre films containing career-defining performances. It can go on the shelf right next to Forest Whitaker in Kevin Macdonald's The Last King of Scotland (2006).
6/10
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