Reviewing All 11 Brooks-Directed Films

This is my review of his entire body of work as a director:

THE GOLDEN AGE

The Producers (1968) - a classic, certainly. The only thing is that now it seems a bit overshadowed by its musical version, which refined the story a little bit. Looking at the original again, I find parts of it are a little clunky (the whole segment towards the end where they attempt to blow up the theatre feels a bit like filler, and there's a reason why the musical version rewrote the whole last act). I think it was clear Brooks was still learning how to direct a film. But regardless, what makes this movie great is the wonderful chemistry Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder have, which Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick have only been able to imitate.

The Twelve Chairs (1970) - I feel about this movie similar to how I feel about Life Stinks: it's good to see a case of Brooks telling an actual story instead of just a big spoof on a genre, even if the end result is less than great. The Twelve Chairs is creative and focuses on more interesting subject matter than you might expect from Brooks. I think that Ron Moody and Frank Langella, both of whom I know are good actors from other works, aren't as great of a team as Mostel and Wilder were. But Dom De Louise is great; some people have said this is his funniest film performance ever.

Blazing Saddles (1974) - another classic and very quotable comedy with iconic characters and scenes. Brooks shows racism for what it is, and goes all out. The only bad thing I can think of is that sadly, after this movie, almost every other Brooks comedy was an attempt to do a similar all-out spoof of a genre and he typecast himself. Brooks himself commented that after this movie was such a huge hit, it put pressure on all his future films to be equal hits.

Young Frankenstein (1974) - his best. What I find to be the strongest element in this movie is how authentic it feels; it really does blur the line between parody and the real thing. And the story it tells actually stands on its own. When I think of this movie, I don't find myself thinking of that over-the-top, anything-for-a-laugh humor, as I do for The Producers or Blazing Saddles, but a more subtle, restrained humor. I think I actually like this movie less for its jokes and more for its atmosphere and Brooks's growth as a director.


THE FOLLOW-UP PERIOD
(here I think Brooks started to become too much of a celebrity, and he made himself the star of his films, with uneven results)

Silent Movie (1976) - possibly his most underrated movie. While all of his spoof films pay homage to a genre, Silent Movie is unique in that the format his constantly paying homage, and so he's FORCED to come up with unique jokes the entire 90 minutes. You never forget you're watching a silent film the entire time, and the result is delightful.

High Anxiety (1977) - here is where I think his decline started. High Anxiety definitely has funny parts, but I think it's Brooks's plainest movie. It doesn't seem as creative as other films, and little of it has really stayed with me. Brooks isn't that funny in the lead role, and the supporting characters (Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman) are all his regulars, which is fine, but it keeps the movie from standing out or feeling particularly new. Roger Ebert made a notable comment in his review: that a lot of Hitchcock's films were already tongue-in-cheek comedies to begin with, and Brooks didn't accomplish much in spoofing them. Furthermore, I think the song "High Anxiety" is perhaps the least memorable of all the Brooks songs.

History of the World: Part I (1981) - I think Brooks may have let his ego get in the way of this one: he's playing 5 roles plus writing, producing, directing. Also, I think this movie suffers from lack of focus on any one subject. For example, all of the caveman jokes feel like rehashes of his 2000 Year Old Man routine. Yes, there are funny bits, like Moses, the Inquisition, and Jews In Space, but it's more skits than story. Take for instance the scene where Brooks walks in on Jesus during the Last Supper. The idea is funny, but they don't do that much with it; maybe they didn't want to take the chance of offending anyone.

THE MAINSTREAM PERIOD
(I call this the mainstream period because he started casting more hip and younger comedians of the day like John Candy, Joan Rivers, and Richard Lewis, and also because he was now competing with the Airplane! and Naked Gun movies, and you can see more of an effort to try and be like those)

Spaceballs (1987) - I grew up with this movie and it was my introduction to Brooks, so it's hard for me to critique it. My opinion, which is obviously biased, is that its damn funny and has a good collection of jokes and a good ensemble cast. However, Rick Moranis steals the film.

Life Stinks (1991) - pretty much the same as my Twelve Chairs review. It was refreshing to see Brooks tell an original story and be more serious than usual, although the result is uneven. I think the film might've worked better if they'd gotten rid of the clunky third act (Brooks finding out he's been conned, then spends some time in a mental hospital before having a big climatic fight) and instead just given us more of Brooks's misadventures as a bum. Maybe Brooks was scared of going too serious on us. I will say it's his best acting ever.

Robin Hood: Men In Tights (1993) - pretty silly. I didn't grow up with this one, and most people I know who love it always did. I just feel like almost every joke in this movie is 50 years old (for example: "Lend me your ears" and people throws their ears at him. I've seen that gag in Bugs Bunny jokes made in the 1950's!). I also think Brooks himself knew he was past his prime and hence all the references to his previous films. Blazing Saddles in particular is referenced multiple times.

Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) - I think Brooks hit rock bottom here. This movie is really struggling. Brooks and Leslie Neilson should've been the greatest comedic pairing in history, but it's terrible, mostly due to the reliance of cartoonish jokes, and again, jokes that feel 50 years old ("I was having a day-mare." Really?). I can understand why Brooks stopped directing after this, and fortunately, by dedicating himself to Broadway, he's had a nice revival.

And that's my review of the entire Brooks filmography.


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