21.10.17

"Young Frankenstein" by Mel Brooks (1974)


Delightful, off-the-wall homage to the old 1930s "Universal"  horror movies, this is such a charmer that it made me chuckle with joy all the way from the beginning to the end. Perhaps it don't work so well for viewers unfamiliar with where all these quotes come from (I happened to be fan of "Universal" horrors and even have them in a DVD package) but overload of completely new, extremely funny quotes are gracing the script so young viewers can enjoy it without preconception. 

Of course, its a spoof of great, classic Mary Shelley novel with a hammy touch of Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder whose comic genius is capable of turning everything upside down, not to mention their softness for risqué jokes. This kind of humour is consciously unsophisticated but hilarious nevertheless, with Brooks and Wilder obviously having a great time clowning around and loving every minute of it. Where some later comedies using previously known ideas just left me cold, this one was a pure, undiluted joy. "Young Frankenstein" has Gene Wilder (descendant of famous Doctor Frankenstein) arriving in Transylvania to explore inherited castle, where he is welcomed by sinister frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman), dizzy blonde assistant (unforgettable Teri Garr) and wonderfully ludicrous hunchback Igor - now, I must say that I absolutely love Marty Feldman and for me he is the biggest star of the movie, what a brilliant, brilliant character. He is just too funny for words even when he is completely alone on the screen, I honestly wish he had much bigger movie career and I could perfectly imagine his own movie serial. There is also a odd police inspector (Kenneth Mars) and naturally we have a monster (Peter Boyle) who is so lovable that I want to embrace and pet him. The whole movie is so chockfull of witty lines that I definitely must watch it again to soak everything properly, but unforgettable comment of Terry Garr about enormous schwanzstucker still gets me laughing, even the next day. Best moments are usually completely unexpected, like when police inspector talks in front of angry mob and suddenly they all go quiet because nobody understands a word he says. Frau Blücher walking around with those candles, roll in ze hay, Dr.Frankenstein's nightmares, seda-give, the Blindman ... its just too much to count here, what a fun. Oh, I almost forgot Madeline Kahn and her stories about poo-poo undies, you have to see it to believe it. It's one of the rare movies where I cannot pinpoint just one highlight. (How about "Putting on the Ritz" scene?) I always loved Frankenstein monster but this one is a keeper, I just love him to death. 


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