Funny Girl (film) Funny Girl (film) Funny Girl is a 1968 American biographical romantic musical comedy-drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Isobel Lennart was adapted from her book for the stage musical of the same title. It is loosely based on the life and career of Broadway and film star and comedian Fanny Brice and her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein. Produced by Brice's son-in-law, Ray Stark, with music and lyrics by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, the film stars Barbra Streisand (in her film debut reprising her Broadway role) as Brice and Omar Sharif as Arnstein,
Funny Girl (film) ... 100 Songs", and the line "Hello, gorgeous" at #81 in its 2005 list of "100 Years ... 100 Movie Quotes". "Funny Girl" is considered one of the greatest musical films ever. In 2016, "Funny Girl" was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Set in and around New York City just prior to and following World War I, the story opens with "Ziegfeld Follies" star Fanny Brice awaiting the return of husband Nicky Arnstein from prison, and then moves into an extended flashback focusing