There seems to be the consensus that Fanny Brice was less than striking in looks and wasn't capable of being a leading lady in films. Almost 50 years after "Funny Girl", that is being disproved, and this 80+ year old film stands the test of time to honor the actress/singer/comic that could break you down both in stitches and in tears. Yes, her obvious Jewishness is quite noticeable, but why does that matter? There is something special about her. No wonder she got a Broadway musical made celebrating her life more than a decade after her death.
You will not think at all of Barbra Streisand when watching "Be Yourself", because this is the real deal. This early talkie musical drama starring Brice and Robert Armstrong deals with a nightclub entertainer who becomes the manager of a prize-fighter who takes her for granted. Almost similar in story to "Funny Girl" itself, this film lacks the creakiness of other movie musicals made in the early days of sound films. Brice is a prize in the gallery of amazing Jewish entertainers (Jolson, Cantor, Sophie Tucker), with her heart as big as all outdoors, and a humor that when the pathos arrive is never melodramatic. As much as she uses comedy to make herself humorously unattractive through facial grimaces, funny costumes and silly songs, it doesn't hide the truth. Early Hollywood sound films had only a few characters like her (most similarly Warner Brothers' Winnie Lightner), but unlike her, Brice exudes femininity behind that typical New York Jewish dialect, and in dealing with the man she loves who totally under appreciates her, makes her totally lovable.
It sags a bit when Brice is off screen, but fortunately, that is not often. I found some of the accents of the other characters a bit difficult to understand at times, but that's minor. The songs, all forgotten today, are actually quite good, and the production numbers zanily fun and out of this world. One of them is up there with "Turn On the Heat" from "Sunny Side Up" and the idol dance from the outrageously silly "Just Imagine" for camp quotient. When you see "Be Yourself", you will see the real deal that years later made the Broadway boards and its legendary star. One of the songs is eerily like "My Man" and a forgotten gem.
You will not think at all of Barbra Streisand when watching "Be Yourself", because this is the real deal. This early talkie musical drama starring Brice and Robert Armstrong deals with a nightclub entertainer who becomes the manager of a prize-fighter who takes her for granted. Almost similar in story to "Funny Girl" itself, this film lacks the creakiness of other movie musicals made in the early days of sound films. Brice is a prize in the gallery of amazing Jewish entertainers (Jolson, Cantor, Sophie Tucker), with her heart as big as all outdoors, and a humor that when the pathos arrive is never melodramatic. As much as she uses comedy to make herself humorously unattractive through facial grimaces, funny costumes and silly songs, it doesn't hide the truth. Early Hollywood sound films had only a few characters like her (most similarly Warner Brothers' Winnie Lightner), but unlike her, Brice exudes femininity behind that typical New York Jewish dialect, and in dealing with the man she loves who totally under appreciates her, makes her totally lovable.
It sags a bit when Brice is off screen, but fortunately, that is not often. I found some of the accents of the other characters a bit difficult to understand at times, but that's minor. The songs, all forgotten today, are actually quite good, and the production numbers zanily fun and out of this world. One of them is up there with "Turn On the Heat" from "Sunny Side Up" and the idol dance from the outrageously silly "Just Imagine" for camp quotient. When you see "Be Yourself", you will see the real deal that years later made the Broadway boards and its legendary star. One of the songs is eerily like "My Man" and a forgotten gem.