History of the World Part I

One line review: A handful of good jokes don’t make up for an overall boring film.

Movie Title: History of the World Part I

Actors: Mel Brooks, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Ron Carey, Gregory Hines, Pamela Stephenson, Shecky Greene, Sid Caesar, Mary-Margaret Humes, Orson Welles

Director: Mel Brooks

Year: 1981

Genre: Comedy

Method of Viewing: DVD

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes: 62% – Mel Brooks’ The History of the World: Part I contains plenty of belly-shaking laughs.

My rating: **

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): This film was at it’s best when it was doing short and small jokes at the beginning. As the film tries to expand more into something resembling a plot the jokes become fewer, more vulgar, and overall less original. This is a film where you barely even need the audio as almost everything is a visual gag, with 50% of the gags being racist, sexual, or religious. After a while you simply get tired of crappy jokes and want the film to end. There is no need to watch this film again, nor much need to watch it the first time.

Blazing Saddles

One line review: The only live action Looney Tunes movie I ever want to see; this is my favorite Mel Brooks movie.

Movie Title: Blazing Saddles

Actors: Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Slim Pickens

Director: Mel Brooks

Year: 1974

Genre: Comedy

Method of Viewing: DVD

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes: 89% – It’s a crazed grabbag of a movie that does everything to keep us laughing except hit us over the head with a rubber chicken.

My rating: ****

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): I thought Young Frankenstein was okay, but occasionally annoying. I thought Spaceballs was too frantic and crazy for my preference. However, this movie struck a perfect balance with my funny bone. It felt like I was watching Bugs Bunny running around, and I was more than willing to accept the frantic nature of the film. There also seemed to be more of a driving force, even a plot in this movie than in something like Spaceballs. My favorite parts are the parts most like a cartoon, especially when the movie just drops all pretense and throws in cartoonish sound effects. Fantastic!

Spaceballs

One line review: A lot of hit and miss jokes, but enough jokes manage to stick that you can at least enjoy the film.

Movie Title: Spaceballs

Actors: Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, George Wyner, Michael Winslow

Director: Mel Brooks

Year: 1987

Genre: Comedy

Method of Viewing: DVD

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: Family

Rotten Tomatoes: 65% – Most jokes have a forced quality, but there’s something gleefully self-aware about them, like the vaudeville comedian whose act consists of telling bad jokes and laughing at them, but doing it all with exquisite timing.

My rating: ***

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): This won’t be a movie I hold in such high regard, but at least it was funny sometimes. The jokes come at you one moment after the other: some set up, some sight gags, some hidden jokes, all thrown at the audience at random. Part of the reason I didn’t think much higher of this movie is because it seemed to shift from one joke to another without giving the audience time to think. Still, the movie avoids getting too annoying, has some rather clever observations and jokes, so it overall comes off as an enjoyable, if a bit strange, movie.

Young Frankenstein

One line review: A shotgun humor style that doesn’t always hit

Movie Title: Young Frankenstein

Actors: Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Kenneth Mars

Director: Mel Brooks

Year: 1974

Genre: Comedy / SciFi

Method of Viewing: DVD

Location of Viewing: Home

Viewing with: No One

Rotten Tomatoes: 93% – Made with obvious affection for the original, Young Frankenstein is a riotously silly spoof featuring a fantastic performance by Gene Wilder.

My rating: *** – A Great Movie, but not worthy of it’s Legendary status.

My assessment (the first 101 words at least): Young Frankenstein is a movie that keeps hitting with one joke after another, whether it be a pun, silly moment, running gag, ridiculous looking visual, what have you. The problem with this method of comedy is that it’s hit and miss. When it hits, it’s hilarious and feels like one of the best movies of all time. When it misses, it feels like it’s trying too hard. Perhaps giving this movie only three stars is just a personal opinion, or maybe this movie is showing it’s age, but I really feel that this movie is not worthy of it’s Legendary status.