Am I the only one who finds his movies extremely overrated?
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.
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MovieChat Forums > Mel Brooks Discussion > Am I the only one who finds his movies e...
I absolutely loved YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and BLAZING SADDLES as a kid. I especially thought the final 20 minutes of BS to be consistently clever, insane, and hilarious in a way few other comedies have even attempted.
As far as his later stuff, I found SPACEBALLS and ROBIN HOOD MEN IN TIGHTS to be "okay" when I was a kid, but not particularly funny. SPACEBALLS had a few funny moments but overall a lot of the same jokes were done better in AIRPLANE 2. He was starting to lose his mojo around that time.
Maybe 10 years ago I finally got around to watching HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART 1 and have to say I was mightily disappointed with it. I laughed a total of two times; once at "the people are revolting" pun and the scenes where Jesus calls out "Judas! ... what are we having for supper this evening". Otherwise I felt the film was flat and filled with a lot of lame unfunny songs like the Inquisition song. DRACULA DEAD AND LOVING IT fell pretty flat too, from what little I remember.
I've never bothered with LIFE STINKS, HIGH ANXIETY, or SILENT MOVIE but I don't have much reason to expect them to be any better.
He did produce through his "Brooks films" company movies such as David Cronenberg's The Fly remake and David Lynch's The Elephant Man, so his career wasn't a total waste.
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shareI don't think you're necessarily the only one who finds his films overrated, but I happen to enjoy them by and large. Notably, the one time I saw High Anxiety mentioned, it was by a member who hadn't seen it (but thought s/he wouldn't like it). High Anxiety is the answer for anyone who thinks Mel Brooks' films are overrated. It is remarkably funny with great, memorable characters. It is a parody of Alfred Hitchcock films, but it plays as more of an homage. Brooks' love for Hitch is apparent, and much of the slapstick hijinx does not relate to Hitchcock's works. Brooks often took on small roles in his films, but here he is the star. He's in practically every scene and the movie does not suffer from it. He and Madeline Kahn are convincing as sleuthing, as well as romantic, partners.
shareI enjoy a few of his movies but I would agree he's a bit overrated.
When it comes to comedy movies from that time period I prefer Woody Allen and Monty Python over Mel Brooks.