I've watched just about all of his so called "parodies" and I kid you not, I haven't laughed a single time. And I used to love spoof movies when I was a kid.
shareA lot of his movies just aren't that funny. The only ones that I can think of that actually manage to get some laughs are Blazing Saddles and History of the World Part I. In general if he doesn't worry about trying to get a PG rating his movies manage to get some laughs because of bawdy humor, but if he isn't going for that type of humor he tends to use silly shit that just doesn't work.
shareSpaceballs is a classic and Young Frankenstein is pretty entertaining as well.
And while it gets no respect and largely does not seem to even be remembered today, I have always been a fan of Dracula: Dead and Loving It. It's not on the level of the aforementioned films, but there's something about the combination of Brooks's humor and Leslie Nielsen's style that works for me.
I put that on my watch list
Sounds like a good combo.
Much like a lot of Brooks's humor, the jokes in Dracula: Dead and Loving it are very "on-the-nose," very literal, and not subtle at all. I hesitate to call it a "good movie," but I find it amusing and just sort of good-natured, and Leslie Nielsen's presence naturally makes the film rather cheerful.
It also has the distinction of being the last film that Mel Brooks ever directed. I don't know if that was by choice or if financiers decided that people just didn't want to see Mel Brooks movies anymore.
DISAGREE.
shareWhy keep watching his movies?
He's made some of my favorite flicks.
Space Balls The Movie
Blazin' Saddles
Young Frankenstein
History of the World Part 1
PS. I waited for decades for a sequel to History of the World. SAD.
No, you're not.
shareBorscht Belt humor died long ago. Most people don’t even know where the Catskill mountains are.
When making the film, The Producers, Broadway legend Zero Mostel HATED having brought in Brooks as the director. He once said, “The director? There’s a director here? THAT’S a director?”
Zero was a genius. Mel, not so much.