1974 comedyRating: 14/20
Plot: A Wild West town inhabited by a bunch of people with the surname Johnson is conveniently or inconveniently right where somebody wants to put railroad tracks. Some bad guys try to run off the Johnsons, and when that doesn't work, they appoint a black sheriff with the hope of offending them right out of town. The new sheriff has to win over the people with the help of a gunslinger named the Waco Kid.
I don't really think this is a very funny movie. The humor's dated, the meta stuff at the end isn't as cute as Mel Brooks thinks it is, Mel Brooks isn't as funny as he thinks he is and of course gives himself two roles, and the lowbrow comedy is completely unironic in an almost disturbing way. Yeah, I'm looking at you fartin'-and-burpin'-around-the-campfire scene. It's bold in the way it addresses race, but its jabs at homosexuality are antiquated. Brooks and the other writers seem to be attempting to mash together smart and stupid, slapstick and satire, and it only works occasionally. Then again, it's hard to argue with explosions that lead to flying and flailing horses, a pie fight that involves Hitler (a pie fight, Mel? Really?), Gabby's mumbling, and the demonstrations of the Waco Kid's shooting skills. There are also some clever anachronisms, and I like the cheesy Western theme music stuff that they use. And Gene Wilder and Slim Pickens in the same movie? You can't argue with that either. Well, you could argue with that, but you would lose. Hearing Slim Pickens say things like "What in the wide world of sports is going on here?" or "We'll make Rock Ridge think it's a chicken that got caught in a tractor's nuts" or "You use your tongue prettier than a twenty-dollar whore" makes up for the stuff in this that doesn't work. Gene Wilder seems high in the majority of his scenes here. Harvey Korman and Cleavon Little are also good. Korman's finest moment is the list he gives for who he wants in the army being put together while Little's would be when he holds himself hostage.
I also give this hoary classic a 14. Its just entertaining enough so that I can watch it again. I think Korman and Pickens are the best things in this movie. Gene Wilder is a little too subdued but his interplay with Cleavon Little is very well done. My favorite actor in this thing is actually Madeline Khan in a stellar portrayal of Marlene Dietrich. She is freaking hilarious.
ReplyDeleteThis movie is the perfect example of my "The amount of screen time Mel Brooks has in a Mel Brooks movie reduces the enjoyment of that film" corollary. There is too much Mel Brooks in this movie, plain and simple. He should have cast someone else as the Mayor and if he felt the need for a cameo, kept his Indian part. I dont know if you are ever going to review High Anxiety, but that's a movie that would have been a classic with Gene Wilder as the lead. Instead its a little curiosity that barely anyone remembers. So anyway, for the very hit and miss Blazing Saddles, a 14 like you.
Oh, forgot about her. She was funny. Shtupp seems a little too obvious though.
ReplyDeleteI don't have much interest in 'High Anxiety'...there is more Gene Wilder coming soon though.
Besides a horse punching and "Scuse me while I whip this out", this is pretty cringe-worthy and forgettable stuff. A 12.
ReplyDeleteIs that 12/20 with or without Gene Wilder and Slim Pickens bonus points?
ReplyDelete