Mel Brooks :'(

My work here is done.

*Deletes CS account, throw computer in the trash*

He'd just come back as a troll account.

The comedy train continues.....






#11 - HIGH ANXIETY (1977)



Mel Brooks love letter to Alfred Hitchcock has some great moments like the opening airport sequence, the camera crashing into the window, Mel getting attacked by Barry Levinson with a newspaper and, of course, the infamous bird pooping scene. However, from a story perspective, the movie is all over the place. Brooks was trying to spoof everything he could instead of just focusing on one or two things. In a strange way, High Anxiety opened the door for Scary Movie and all its redheaded step-children.


#10 - SPACEBALLS (1987)



Call me crazy, but Spaceballs is overrated. It is possibly the worst spoof of Star Wars that I have ever seen. There are amateur videos on YouTube that do a better job of mocking George Lucas and his empire. However, to be fair, Mel Brooks doesn't seem very interested in being negative towards the most popular film series of all-time. He just wanted to make a cheesy science-fiction movie and used Star Wars as a template. From that perspective, Spaceballs does work and it's a lot fun to watch.


#9 - LIFE STINKS (1991)
Remember Trading Places, the film where Dan Aykroyd becomes poor and Eddie Murphy becomes rich through a social experiment? Well, Life Stinks is just like that but without the Eddie Murphy angle to the story. Mel Brooks plays a rich person that bets he can survive as a homeless guy for 30 days. Through his misadventures in poverty he learns the important things in life. Overall, it's an okay movie.


#8 - THE TWELVE CHAIRS (1970)



The Twelve Chairs is based on a famous Russian novel about men searching for hidden jewels. Mel Brooks is rather constraint here. After making his debut with The Producers he seemed more interested in stretching his directorial muscles. The Twelve Chairs isn't particularly funny but it is visually stunning, features a great cast, and has surprisingly strong production values for a low-budget film.


#7 - HISTORY OF THE WORLD, PART I (1981)



It's good to be the King. History of the World, like The Kentucky Fried Movie and The Meaning of Life, is a series of sketches instead of a proper film with three acts. Under that format it can be challenging to maintain quality but Brooks is largely successful. Most of the sketches are hilarious and arguably the funniest works of Brooks career but a few stinkers hold it back from being a true masterpiece.


#6 - DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT (1995)



When I was growing up, Leslie Nielsen was the King of movie spoofs. Airplane and The Naked Gun trilogy were on a pedestal. So when he teamed-up with Mel Brooks there was a lot to be excited about. And yet, the star of Dracula ended up being Renfield. Peter MacNicol delivered one of the greatest comedic performances ever captured on film. Everyone isn't a fan of this movie but I think we can all appreciate his performance. Harvey Korman is also spectacular. The scene where he's having lunch with Renfield and trying to catch him eating bugs is one of the funniest things you're ever gonna see.


#5 - ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS (1993)



Robin Hood: Men in Tights is the movie that introduced me to Mel Brooks. So it will always have a special place in my heart because of that. It's like your first kiss. You never forget it. I appreciate Men in Tights because it's a love letter to the classic 1938 Errol Flynn adaptation while simultaneously destroying the Kevin Costner version. I also enjoy watching Cary Elwes as Robin Hood. The man was born to play these fairy tale roles. Watch The Princess Bride. He's great in that too. Elwes is the definition of charm and classical heroics.


#4 - SILENT MOVIE (1976)



Silent films are fascinating to watch because the only ones that truly survive the test of time are comedies. In particular the ones by Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton which rely on visual gags. Physical humor is universal. It doesn't matter which language you speak or which culture you come from. Watching something be funny crosses barriers. Mel Brooks understands this and delivers the goods. Silent Movie is a masterpiece in that genre and any fan of great comedy should watch it.


#3 - THE PRODUCERS (1967)




Accountant Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) discovers that Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) can make more money from a flop than a success. So they collaborate on what they expect to be an historic disaster and instead wind up with the biggest hit on Broadway. Many have called this the greatest comedic premise of all-time and Mel Brooks was rewarded with an Academy Award and numerous Tony Awards for the stage version 30 years later. I don't know if it's indeed the best, but it's definitely up there. Once again, Mel Brooks delivered a masterpiece and it is required viewing for fans of comedy.


#2 - BLAZING SADDLES (1974)



Where are all the white women at? Blazing Saddles is, again, a masterpiece! It's a must-watch for fans. Mel Brooks excels in absurd, irreverent, and "meta" humor. He's also a brilliant social commentator. 6 months ago we were all talking about Django Unchained and whether or not it successfully got its point across. To me, Blazing Saddles, which features no graphic violence whatsoever does a better job. An old lady calling Cleavon Little a n----r is more effective than a pack of dogs killing a slave. As Americans, we love watching mayhem, but in reality, the negative ways we treat each other in everyday life does more damage.


#1 - YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974)



Young Frankenstein is my favorite comedy of all-time. I love it because it doesn't spoof Frankenstein. It simply tells the story in a comedic way. At its root, that's what comedy is. It's just amusing storytelling. I can picture the earliest speaking humans, gathered around a log fire, telling each other funny stories based on their journey's. Frankenstein is a classic tale loaded with important themes and it all crosses over to Mel Brooks adaptation because he's not mocking any of it. He just wants to get the points across in a humorous way.

I legit have only seen Young Frankenstein once and I was about 9 or 10. I should give it another go sometime.

My experience was flipped though, Spaceballs was one of my first MB movies and I really dug it. I didn't see Men In Tights until I was much older, late teens or early twenties. That's one of those movies you gotta see while you're young for sure.

Every time someone disses a Mel Brooks movie, Coronavirus quarantine lasts another month. It's a rule.

This place infamously hates a lot of classic comedies. It’s why Mirko shut down the old boards.

Gene Wilder is one of those guys who I think we as a society took for granted until he passed away. There are a few interviews of him later in life on youtube and they're all fascinating. He really was a gem.