Category Archives: ripe for parody

Mel Brooks: Silent Movie

Posted on by under carrie's faves, hahas, spoofing around, ripe for parody

Before High Anxiety, Mel Brooks starred in and directed Silent Movie (1976). The ultimate silent movie, it’s a silent film about creating a silent film. Aided by his two loyal associates, Dom Bell (Dom DeLuise) and Marty Eggs (Marty Feldman), Mel Funn (Mel Brooks) takes a silent film script to Hollywood, where he was once revered. The studio has just received word that the treacherous Engulf and Devour plan to take over their studio. Mel Funn declares that his silent film will save the studio, and he sets off to find big stars for the film (including Burt Reynolds, Liza Minnelli, and Paul Newman).

Why Mel Funn wears a sailing cap, I have no idea, but they enjoy their hats in this movie.

Engulf and Devour try desperately to stop them, but they could have spared themselves the trouble. Bell, Eggs, and Funn wreak havoc on all of their stars perfectly well on their own, and the stars still agree to participate in the film. Engulf and Devour hire seductress Vilma Kaplan (Bernadette Peters) to distract Funn from his mission, but as a matter of course, she falls in love with the director/recovering alcoholic for real.

Let’s make this as awkward as possible…

The comedy is brilliantly, ridiculously slapstick, true to a Mel Brooks film. To make this film special, they perform variations of the traditional gags of the master comedians (think Buster Keaton, who was Marty Feldman’s idol), and speed up the film to mimic the early rapid, jerky frames in addition to showing frantic behavior. Then there’s the comedy hallmarks that make a Mel Brooks film: irony, quotes, and absurdity.  A few of my favorite examples:

Quoting his own plot: Distracting seductive lounge singer–Blazing Saddles (1974), anyone? Not to mention, her routines are just bizarre …

Distracting much? And notice Marty Eggs’ hat…

Marty Feldman: physical comedy, can’t catch a break, and awkward, unspoken dialogue. I love Marty Feldman. You may know him as Igor in Young Frankenstein (1974). He is a great character with odd quirks as a “mild-mannered pervert,” wearing a fighter pilot’s cap even with formal wear, and always hopping out of the convertible to open the door for Bell, even though Marty sits in the middle.  Watch Marty- he has a lot of little behaviors in big scenes that are hilarious. Details, details, details.

Hiring Bernadette Peters to be the musical star in a silent film: Just in case you aren’t familiar with her, she’s well-known for her musical talent as well as acting, and has spent a lot of time on Broadway as well as film.

Marcel Marceau speaks!

Mime Marcel Marceau having one of almost the only sounds: they call a mime on the phone (ha ha), and he answers his resounding “non/no” to being in the film, which is funny, because he’s in the film …

While I wouldn’t call this my favourite Mel Brooks piece, it’s definitely funny and worth a watch if you haven’t seen it.  Being silent, it doesn’t work at all if you multitask during the movie (a habit I tend to have), so watch it when you have time to actually sit down and watch it. I recommend lemonade and some sort of light finger food with this one–perhaps peanut butter and jelly cut into fourths.

 

This post is the second entry in Carrie’s ongoing tribute to the filmography of Mel Brooks. You can find more entries in that series here.

High Anxiety

Posted on by under blogathon, carrie's faves, ripe for parody

I have to begin by saying how excited I was to hear about the “Best Hitchcock Films Hitchcock Never Made” blogathon. Several months ago, I decided to run a series on Mel Brooks, and this is the best kickoff I could have chosen. My many thanks to Dorian and Becky for hosting the “Not-Hitch” celebration!

High Anxiety (1977) was designed to parody suspense film as a genre, but primarily to parody Hitchcock suspense films. Many may recognize the references to Vertigo (1958), which are certainly prevalent, but Brooks wouldn’t be the brilliant filmmaker we know if he had stopped there.

The standard asylum fear: staff trapping patients by convincing others they are crazy. Here, Dr. Montague pretends to become a werewolf.

The setting screams Spellbound (1945), as does the opening premise: Dr. Thorndyke takes over the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous, a position that the villainous Dr. Montague had expected to receive. The film that ensues is a mishmash of numerous Hitchcock images including imperatives from Psycho (1960), North by Northwest (1959), The Birds (1963), Spellbound, Suspicion‘s (1941) spider web shadow, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1954), and Vertigo (please note: NOT an exhaustive list).  In proper Mel Brooks fashion, the more you know about Hitchcock’s work, the more humor you can find in the film.

Possibly the most obligatory parody in the film: Dr. Thorndyke about to be “stabbed” by a newspaper.

Most of Mel Brooks’ parodies mimic images. What makes this film extra-special, however, is the way he plays with what made Hitchcock such a famous filmmaker: camera angles. Hitchcock is widely considered a filming genius and credited with revolutionizing the use of the camera to create visual effects. Mel Brooks pays close attention to this, and mimics Hitch’s habit. The introduction runs through the airport, following a baggage claim. This preferred pattern would eventually become a favorite of modern film artist Tim Burton.  Later, the film showcases using camera angles by literally placing the camera in random places or, as in my favorite scene, actually creates a mood using the camera angle.

The gate to the institute: Please note the sign “keep in.”

One of my favorite scenes in the film involves Dr. Montague and Nurse Diesel, portrayed by two frequent Mel Brooks compatriots: Harvey Korman and the incredible Cloris Leachman. Nurse Diesel (yes, that’s Nurse Ratched from 1975′s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and not even subtle), the true evil mastermind, explains the plot to Dr. Montague during an afternoon tea. The camera, however, sits below the glass-topped coffee table. The camera allows the audience to “spy” on the plotters, who unwittingly block the camera repeatedly as they go about having their tea. The comedy of the moment is brilliant, drawing the audience into the role of spy, albeit a spy constantly frustrated by carafes and saucers (and eventually completely blocked by a tray). Brooks creates one of his best parodies here by comedically accomplishing the very thing that makes Hitchcock so masterful: using perspective to create or change the role of his audience.

“Vertigo” and the blonde bombshell …

What also makes this film special is that Mel Brooks stars in the movie himself. Like Hitchcock, he typically has a character role or cameo in his films. Oddly, in his film pertaining to Hitchcock, he steps out and stars in his own picture. It is not the first or certainly the only movie where he does so, but it is his first with a speaking role (he stars also in 1976′s Silent Movie). However, in proper Hitchcock fashion, Mel Brooks hired a “blonde” to play the lead hysterical female role–Madeline Kahn. The in-the-film-blonde Kahn takes her role quite seriously, basically encompassing every suspense/Hitchcock bombshell all in one character (and let’s face it, no one in Mel Brooks’ arsenal, or possibly in the world, can do pitchy hysteria quite the way she can.).

Cloris Leachman is masterful as Nurse Diesel

The acting in this film is excellent overall, and no suspense is worth anything unless the villain in compelling. Harvey Korman is excellent as the rather disturbed puppet front man. Cloris Leachman’s performance as the horrifying Nurse Diesel is nothing short of a statement. Her verbal cues and posture communicate everything about her commanding strictness, and she creates a delightfully bizarre, blocked speech by clenching her teeth and only talking out of one side of her mouth. Just as Hitchcock worked hard to give the audience important signals of impending danger, she’s a caricature of held-back, hidden villainy.

This post could probably continue forever with parody mentions, pointing our references, or discussing the brilliance of the performances, but there has to be at least a little suspense left for the film …

Now THAT’S comedy.

Posted on by under classic cartoons, ripe for parody, saturday morning cartoons

I’ve previously mentioned my all-abiding love for the 1990s cartoon series Animaniacs here on the blog. Produced by Steven Spielberg, the show was more than a mere cartoon–it was a cleverly-constructed show that appealed to both adults and children with a hilarious combination of slapstick-y violence, meta references, and witty send-ups of pop culture icons.

This week, the Mental Floss blog published an article on the show that instantly reminded me of how truly great Animaniacs was. When I was younger, I watched the show religiously. Though I didn’t understand all of the references at the time, there was nonetheless something appealing about the humor. It was cheeky and sly and filled with “adult” allusions, but most importantly, even though it was a “kid’s show,” the writers didn’t condescend to their audience.

The starring trio–the screwy Warner Brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and their so-cute-and-she-knows-it sister Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the Third (known more commonly as Dot)–were the guiding force of the show, aided by a sterling set of supporting characters, some of which became breakout stars in their own rights (as with Pinky and the Brain, the laboratory mice determined to take over the world, who were spun off into their own series). There was something for every taste on the show: from the adorable adventures of Mindy and her put-upon dog, Buttons, to the cranky septuagenarian Slappy Squirrel (whose catchphrase provides the title for this post), to the combative Goodfeathers (a parodic take on the 1990 Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas), to the musical cat Rita (voiced by the incomparable Bernadette Peters) and her dog pal, Runt.

Watching reruns and clips of the show from the perspective of a much more pop culture-savvy adult, I can now appreciate just how deft the film parodies on Animaniacs really were. The writers had an obvious love for classic film, and quite a few movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood were given the Animaniacs treatment: gentle (sometimes sarcastic) prodding, witty reenactment, and a healthy helping of innuendo, tempered by a great deal of affection for the source material and frequent breaking of the fourth wall.

For this week’s entry in our continuing Saturday Morning Cartoons series, here’s a sampling of some of my favorite classic movie parodies that were tackled by Animaniacs. Mind you, this is only a handful of the fantastic film spoofs this show has to offer …

*

“Meatballs or Consequences”

Hands down, my favorite sketch from the show, ever. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot find themselves in Sweden facing “a literary personification of the state of non-being” in a game of checkers, in a phenomenal parody of Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal (1957). This one is filled with quippy gems. “All is strange and vague.” “Are we dead?” “Or is this Ohio?”

*

“Bumbie’s Mom”

Slappy Squirrel’s nephew, Skippy, is traumatized by the on-screen death of “Bumbie’s” mother … much like the rest of us were. The look on Skippy’s face at the pivotal moment: priceless. [Note for Disney fans: Sherri Stoner, the voice of Slappy Squirrel, was the "motion model" for the characters of Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989) and Belle in Beauty and the Beast (1991).]

*

“Our Final Space Cartoon, We Promise”

A take on 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). “AL 5000″ is not who you think he is. The animators went all-out for this one–even the wraparounds in the episode were parodies of the film.

*

“The Boids”

The Goodfeathers get a job as extras/”stunt birds” in a Hitchcock film, and soon come to regret it as they clash with a Jack Nicholson-type crow on the set and realize acting is not exactly the easy life.

*

“Mindy in Wonderland”

Of course, it should go without saying that the Alice in Wonderland parody is one of my favorites. Taking their cues from the 1951 Disney version of Lewis Carroll’s classic story, this one features Bernadette Peters stepping outside of her normal role as Rita and voicing the Cheshire Cat (Mindy, incidentally, is voiced by Nancy Cartwright, better known as the voice of Bart Simpson).

*

“King Yakko”

One of the more in-depth and effective parodies offered by the show is this spoof on the 1933 Marx Brothers classics Duck Soup, with Yakko in Groucho’s place and Wakko taking on a Harpo-esque role.

“Don’t forget, Rob–thumbs up!”

Posted on by under blogathon, classic television, ripe for parody

This post is our contribution to the Dick Van Dyke Show 50th anniversary blogathon hosted by Ivan of Thrilling Days of Yesteryear. We adore Ivan for his unending love for classic film and his brilliant way with words (we’re not just saying that for brownie points or anything–though we never turn down brownies), so even though we are, by and large, a movie blog, we’re bending the rules a little just so we can join in the fun. [Besides--to borrow shamelessly from Lesley Gore--it's our blog and we can deviate if we want to, deviate if we want to, deviate if we ... oh, you get the idea.] Make sure to head over to TDOY to see what promises to be a fantastic lineup of contributions!

Let me just preface this post with a confession: my experience with The Dick Van Dyke Show is pretty limited. My parents loved Nick at Nite and, more recently, TV Land (at least, back in the days when those two actually showed TDVDS and other classics … I don’t know what they consider their programming to be these days, but it ain’t classics), so I did watch a few episodes here and there over the years. I found the show to be amusing; however, unlike I Love Lucy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Bewitched, Dick Van Dyke was never “must see TV” for me.

But there is one episode that I remember clearly, one that has stuck with me for lo these many years: the one with those damn walnuts.

[If you've never seen this episode, be warned: I'm going to talk about the whole thing from beginning to end, and I'm posting quite a few screenshots as well, because this show is full of visual gems. If you'd like to see it for yourself before reading, it's available in its entirety on Hulu.]

Continue reading →