1974 comedy classicRating: 18/20
Plot: A descendant of Dr. Frankenstein tries his best to live a life of obscurity but can't escape his famous ancestor's reputation. He inherits his castle, gets himself a hunchbacked Igor and a sexy laboratory assistant, and finds the notorious doctor's secret library. He begins to experiment.
I'm just going to say it--Gene Wilder's work in this is the greatest acting performance of all time. Let me make sure I'm being clear here because I'm not just talking about a performance in a comedy or a performance by a person with hair like that. I'm talking about the greatest acting performance of all time. His highs and lows are pitch perfect, and so is his comic timing. And I just love it when Gene gets mad. It's exhilarating, and I would honestly not be surprised to open a National Geographic and find an article about a tribe of people in some country I've never heard of who do nothing with their time but chew on leaves and have religious experiences while watching scenes from Gene Wilder movies. Now I'll accept one argument to my claim that this is the greatest acting performance of all time. Only one though--that Gene Wilder tops himself as Wonka. I'll give you that. The psychedelic boat ride scene with that creepy poem is about as good as it gets. But his work in Young Frankenstein has got to be in the top two. The rest of this cast is great, too. Love Feldman's hammy Igor, Boyle's monster, Leachman's Frau Blucher, and Teri Garr's Inga, the latter with sex appeal that rivals Mamma Fratelli's. Kenneth Mars' inspector character isn't around much but nearly steals every scene he's in with a Peter Sellers-esque role. Not all the gags work here, expected with something that Mel Brooks put together, but when this connects, it hits hard. Fans of childish word play will have a head start. And I really like how Brooks keeps things classic with the black and white, the score, and the elongated exterior and interior shots of the castle. One could argue, by the way, that things go a little too far with a song and dance number when Frankenstein and his creation perform "Puttin' on the Ritz" as it almost clashes with that classic feel. But you know what? Just thinking about that scene cracks me up so much that it's difficult to both type and swallow. And I know that tribe in the National Geographic loves that scene. That's probably why they don't wear pants actually!
Me: Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein--greatest performance in movie history.
Jen: Gene Wilder? What happened to his career?
Me: He had cancer.
Jen: That's not funny.
Wow, I think this is the first comedy where I have completely agreed with you.
ReplyDeleteI have a theory about how good a Mel Brooks movie is, based on the amount of screen time Mel Brooks has.
The theory looks like this.
1M X MB (PM)= LL
Every minute of Mel Brooks per movie equals one fewer laugh.
Young Frankenstein contains the least amount of Mel Brooks of any of his films, and therefore its his best film. I think The Producers (Original) is the one I laughed the most at, (And Brooks appears in it for ten seconds) but this is pure quality from beginning to end.
Another reason its so good, is it was Wilders concept to make the movie. Its got just enough Brooks to make it funny in all the right spots. Its a 19. Maybe even a 20.
I also give this an 18. I might choose Wilder's performance in "The Producers" as an equal to the other two. The scene with Mostel where he has an anxiety attack is one of the greatest scenes in movie history.
ReplyDeleteKahn, Boyle, and Feldman are also great in this hilarious movie.