High Anxiety

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

The story begins at Los Angeles airport, where Dr. Richard Thorndyke (Mel Brooks) has several odd encounters (such as a homosexual man disguised as a police officer). He leaves for the institute with his driver, Brophy (Ron Carey). Upon his arrival, he is greeted by the staff, Dr. Charles Montague (Harvey Korman), Dr. Philip Wentworth (Dick Van Patten) and Nurse Charlotte Diesel (Cloris Leachman). When he goes to his room, a large rock is thrown through the window, with a message of welcome from the Violent Ward.

Thorndyke then hears strange noises coming from Nurse Diesel’s room and when he and Brophy go to investigate, Diesel claims it was the TV. However, it was a passionate session of BDSM with Dr. Montague. The next morning, Thorndyke is alerted by a light shining through his window. It is coming from the violent ward. Dr. Montague takes Thorndyke to the light’s source, the room of patient Arthur Brisbane, who, after suffering a nervous breakdown, thinks he is a Cocker Spaniel.

Later, Nurse Diesel is talking with Dr. Wentworth. He wants to leave, but she won’t let him. However, after some arguing, she says she’ll let him go. When Wentworth is driving home that night, his radio blasts rock music loudly and will not shut off. He is trapped in his car, his ears hemorrhage, and he dies from a stroke, aggravated by the loud volume.

After this, Thorndyke goes to the grand hotel – the broad-atriumed, vertigo-inducing Hyatt Regency San Francisco, where much to his dismay he is relegated to a room on the top floor, due to a reservation change by a “Mr. MacGuffin”. He pesters the bellboy (Barry Levinson) with repeated requests for a newspaper, wanting to look in the obituaries for information concerning Dr. Wentworth’s demise. He then takes a shower, during which the bellboy comes and in a frenzy mimics stabbing Thorndyke with the paper while screaming “Here’s your paper! Happy now?! Happy?” The paper’s ink runs down the drain, a reference to Psycho.

After his shower, a woman bursts through the door; she is Victoria Brisbane (Madeline Kahn), the daughter of Arthur Brisbane (Albert Whitlock). She wants help regarding her father. He agrees to the terms, but then finds out Nurse Diesel’s plot. The patient is not the real Arthur Brisbane.

To stop Thorndyke, Diesel and Montague hire a killer, “Braces” (Rudy De Luca), to impersonate Thorndyke and shoot a man in the lobby. Now with the police after him, he must prove his innocence. After he is briefly attacked by pigeons, he contacts Brophy, and realizes Brophy took a picture of the shooting. The real Thorndyke was in the elevator at the time, so he should be in the picture.

He orders Brophy to enlarge the picture. When he goes to call, “Braces” tries to strangle him; however, Thorndyke is able to kill him. Brophy enlarges the photo, and Thorndyke is indeed visible in the picture. Nurse Diesel and Montague capture Brophy and take him to the North Wing. They also take the real Arthur Brisbane to a tower to kill him.

As Thorndyke runs up the tower to save him and Brisbane, Nurse Diesel leaps out from the shadows in a witch’s costume with a broom, and falls out the tower window. Thinking she really is a witch, she tries to act like she’s flying, ending in her death at the rocks below.

Dr. Montague appears from the shadows and gives up before being hit in the head by the trap door by Brophy. Victoria is reunited with her father and gets married to Thorndyke who go off on Honeymoon.

REVIEW:

With the success of Alfred Hitchcock’s films, it is a wonder that no one has really made an attempt to make a full on spoof of them. Sure, we get plenty of cartoon and comic fodder of scenes here and there, but nothing that is a full on riff of his masterpieces. That is until the release of High Anxiety, a parody film by the master of parody, Mel Brooks.

What is this about?

Dr. Richard Thorndyke arrives as new administrator of the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, VERY Nervous to discover some suspicious goings-on. When he’s framed for murder, Dr. Thorndyke must confront his own psychiatric condition, “high anxiety,” in order to clear his name. An homage to the films of Alfred Hitchcock; contains many parodies of famous Hitchcock scenes from The Birds, Psycho, and Vertigo.

What did I like?

The usual suspects. Mel Brooks seems to have a set group of actors whom he can call upon for any of his films. Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Dick van Patten, and to a certain extent, Cloris Leachman. A recurring cast like that always helps because they know he director, his style, etc., making for a string of great performances.

Reference. Along with parodying Psycho, Vertigo, and The Birds, this film makes reference to other works of Hitchcock’s. For instance, late in the film, Brooks’ asks his female accomplice to meet him in the “North by Northwest” corner of the park, an obvious reference to Hitchcock’s North by Northwest.

Respect. When one makes a parody of something, you always wonder what the creator of the original is going to think. I’m sure that was going through Brooks’ head when he learned that Hitchcock was going to see this. As it turns out, though, he loved it and sent a word of congratulation to Brooks, as well as some fancy wine. Of course, Hitchcock did work with him on the screenplay, so there may have been a little bit of a pat on the back there, as well. HA!

What didn’t I like?

Blonde ambition. Madeline Kahn is normally the gorgeous, sexpot in Brooks’ films. No change in her role in this flick, except for the fact that she went blonde. Normally, I could care less about something as fickle as the color of someone’s hair, but the blonde was such a distraction for me that I have to mention it. Kahn looks best when she is sporting red locks. Who had the bright idea to turn her blonde for this? It really did no good, honestly.

Awkward. Ever have one of those moments when you need to talk about something adult-oriented, but some kids suddenly show up? Brooks writes this in at a convention in which his character happened to speaking. Not long after one of the other psychiatrists asks him about penis envy, another comes in with his two daughters. While it is a bit of a funny scene, I didn’t really see how it connected with everything.

Make an appearance. In nearly all of his film’s, Alfred Hitchcock made some sort of appearance, much like Stan Lee does with the Marvel films today. However, he doesn’t appear in this. Being that this isn’t his film, that isn’t such a big surprise, but wouldn’t it have been nice to see Hitch somewhere in this? I’m just saying.

For someone like me, who is a fan of Hitchcock’s films, specifically the ones that are targeted, High Anxiety is a rare treat. It isn’t very often that a parody treats the material with such love and respect as this film does. Brooks even goes so far as to set a scene in the same, if not VERY similar, setting  as a previous film, I forgot which one. The bridge and phone booth make for the perfect backdrop. Do I recommend this film? Yes, very highly! Check it out!

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Croods

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Eep (Emma Stone) is a girl in a family of cavemen living and hunting in pre-historic times. Her family is one of the few to survive, mainly due to the strict rules of her overprotective father, Grug (Nicolas Cage). In their cave home, Grug tells a story to the family, which includes his wife Ugga (Catherine Keener), his daughter Sandy, his son Thunk (Clark Duke), and his mother-in-law Gran (Cloris Leachman). He uses the story of a character who mirrors Eep’s curious nature to warn the family that exploration and ‘new things’ pose a threat to their survival, and says to never not be afraid. This irritates the bored and adventurous Eep, and after the family falls asleep, she leaves the cave when she sees a light moving outside, against her father’s advice.

Seeking the light’s source, she meets Guy (Ryan Reynolds), a clever and inventive caveboy. She at first attacks him but then becomes fascinated with the fire he creates and is eager to learn more. He tells her about his theory that the world is reaching its ‘end’ and asks her to join him. She refuses and Guy leaves, but not before giving her a noise-making shell to call him if she needs help. Eep is then caught by Grug (who had been searching for her), and is later grounded for what she had done. Grug brings Eep home and is joined by the rest of the family. Eep tells them about Guy and shows them the shell given to her, only for them to destroy it in fear of ‘new things’. An earthquake then occurs, sending everyone running for the cave, only to be stopped by Grug moments before the cave is destroyed by falling rocks. They climb over the wreckage to discover a land with lush vegetation, much different from their usual surroundings of rocky terrain. Grug takes his family into the forest to find a new cave.

The family is chased by a “Macawnivore” (a large, macaw-colored machairodont later called ‘Chunky’) and attacked by a swarm of “Piranhakeets” (deadly red-furred, piranha-like birds). In panic, Eep finds and sounds a horn similar to that which Guy gave her. Guy hears this and rushes to her. Thinking quickly, he creates a torch of fire, which scares the birds away. The other Croods are captivated by the fire, having never seen it before. They steal Guy’s torch and accidentally set the land around them in flames. Some giant corn is also lit, which rockets up to the sky, prompting a display of fireworks. After feeling impressed by Guy’s intelligence and ‘ideas’, Grug bottles him in a hollow log to carry him in, then suggests that they take solitude in the cave of a nearby mountain mentioned by Guy. Guy is forcibly persuaded to lead the way and learns of the Croods’ way of living, which he thinks of as unusual.

After an unsuccessful hunting attempt, Guy, his “pet” sloth Belt (Chris Sanders), and Eep build a puppet to fool and lure nearby animals. After they make a capture, the family greedily devours everything they caught. Grug then tells another of his morale-lowering tales, this time mirroring the events of their day. Guy then tells a story of his own about a paradise he nicknames “Tomorrow”.

The next day, the family reaches a path coated in spiked rocks which Grug, Thunk, and Gran get pricked upon trying to cross them. A freed Guy presents one of his inventions called shoes. He makes some out of all the resources he can find for each family member. This gains him some respect from the others except for Grug, who feels jealous of Guy’s cleverness. After Guy’s ideas help the Croods on their journey, the family members gain something. Ugga, Gran, and Sandy have their first idea to get past carnivorous plants by hiding under flower heads as they pass, Thunk encounters and befriends a crocodile-like dog he calls Douglas, and Eep and Guy grow closer while Grug is stranded in a ravine forcing Ugga to go back for him. The next day, Grug shows the others some of his ideas (like a see-saw, shades made out of wood, and a snapshot that involves the family being slammed with a flat rock) which fail and humiliate him. They soon reach the mountain where Grug is unable to convince the family that settling in a nearby cave is a better option. Angry, he attacks Guy. The two become stuck in tar and Guy reveals his family died drowning in it and their last words inspired his traditions of “Tomorrow.” Grug has a change of heart towards Guy and he and Guy trick Chunky into freeing them by pretending to be a female “Macawnivore” in trouble.

As they are about to reach their destination, an earthquake opens a deep ravine in their path. Grug throws each of them across the gap and reconciles with Eep while creating the first hug with her. Grug then throws her across the ravine and is left behind. He takes shelter in a cave and makes a torch. After seeing a blank rock face, he paints a large cave-drawing of the Croods and Guy together. He then encounters Chunky, who attacks him until Grug’s torch is accidentally blown out, panicking them both. The frightened Chunky lies near Grug for comfort, who then has his first good idea. Using a large skeleton rib and a bigger torch, Grug manages to lure the Piranhakeets into transporting himself, Chunky, Douglas, and several other animals across the ravine, barely escaping the oncoming “end” destruction.

Grug, along with the rest of the family and the animals, settle down in a paradise-like environment. Grug becomes less protective, letting the family be more adventurous and risk-taking, thus bringing happiness to them all.

REVIEW:

I don’t believe there has been a prehistoric (human) family since The Flintstones, so we’re a bit overdue for one. Enter The Croods, a family that is the last survivors on Earth.

What is this about?

When an earthquake obliterates their cave, an unworldly prehistoric family is forced to journey through unfamiliar terrain in search of a new home. But things for pessimistic dad Grug go from bad to worse when his daughter meets a clever cave boy.

What did I like?

Design. You may notice these characters have a distinctive thick look to them, rather than the waif thin look that is so popular with animation today. If you remember Lilo & Stitch, then you should be used to it because this is the same director. I love the way this guy makes his characters look like someone you see walking down the street. It really works for cavemen, who are supposed to be a bit more thick and muscular, which serves his style perfectly.

Family. The typical tropes that we see in a family comedy. While they are a tad bit predictable, it works extremely well in that they don’t try to do anything that would “rock the boat”. The mother and father are a sweet couple, there’s an ancient mother-in-law that the father wants gone, a rebellious teen, slow but lovable brother, and a baby who has a totally different personality than the rest of the family.

Creatures. You would think that this is Earth, but the creatures that they come across are definitely not the kind we’ve heard of in our day. These fantastic, colorful creatures are a sight to behold. Making it better is the fact that the creatures actually are a part of what is going on. There is a very pivotal scene near the end that shows the creature and Grug Crood interact for a common goal.

What didn’t I like?

Comedy. There are some great comedic moments in the film, but I have issues with the way that the script doesn’t stack up to the physical comedy. Gags are one thing, but the jokes need to be there, too. The fact that they aren’t are a pretty big blemish on this film that really is damn near perfect, if you ask me.

Not for adults. One of the big things about children films is that the filmmakers try to put something in there for the adults. Well, I’m not so sure this one does that. Now, with that said, don’t think that this is an insult to adult intelligence, but if you’re one of those people who expect realism and such, there is nothing here for you, sorry.

Score. Maybe this is just the musician in me coming out, but the score for this film should be just as epic and impressive as the visuals, but it isn’t. Instead, we get some generic music, save for the opening. I was highly disappointed with this, but again, I’m a musician, so music stuffs sticks out more to me than someone without a musically trained ear. See if you can pick out Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” fairly early on.

The Croods is one of the most entertaining, endearing, and crowd-pleasing family films I’ve seen in some time. The critics weren’t exactly head over heels for it, but audiences went crazy for this. I’m regretting not seeing this in theaters. The big screen is sure to have made these scenes pop! That being said, this is a definitely a contender for best film of the year in my book! Check it out ASAP!

5 out of 5 stars

The Muppet Movie

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

The Muppets have gathered in a theatre to screen their new biographical film The Muppet Movie. As the film-within-the-film opens, Kermit the Frog enjoys a relaxing afternoon in a Florida swamp, singing “Rainbow Connection” and strumming his banjo, when he is approached by Bernie (Dom DeLuise), an agent who encourages Kermit to pursue a career in show business. Inspired by the idea of “making millions of people happy,” Kermit sets off on a cross-country trip to Los Angeles, but is soon pursued by businessman and entrepreneur Doc Hopper and shy assistant Max in an attempt to convince Kermit to be the new spokesman of his struggling French-fried frog legs restaurant franchise, to Kermit’s horror. As Kermit continues to refuse Doc’s offers, Hopper resorts to increasingly vicious means of persuasion.

Meeting Fozzie Bear, who works as a hapless stand-up comedian in a sleazy bar, Kermit invites Fozzie to accompany him. The two set out in a 1951 Studebaker loaned to Fozzie by his hibernating uncle. The duo’s journey includes misadventures which introduce them to a variety of eccentric human and Muppet characters, including Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem and their manager Scooter, who receives a copy of the script from the pair; Gonzo and Camilla the Chicken; Sweetums, who runs after them after they think that he has turned them down; and the immediately love stricken Miss Piggy.

Kermit and Miss Piggy begin a relationship over dinner that night, when Doc Hopper and Max kidnap Miss Piggy to lure Kermit into a trap. Using an electronic cerebrectomy device, mad scientist Professor Krassman (Mel Brooks) attempts to brainwash Kermit to perform in Doc’s commercials until Miss Piggy, infuriated by Krassman’s insult, knocks out Doc Hopper’s henchmen and causes the scientist to be zapped by his own device. After receiving a job offer, however, she promptly abandons Kermit in the barn alone and devastated.

After being joined by Rowlf the Dog and eventually Miss Piggy once again, the Muppets continue their journey. Fozzie trades his uncle’s Studebaker to a used car dealer for a 1946 Ford Woodie station wagon to accommodate their new friends, but later regrets the trade after the car overheats in the New Mexico desert. During a campfire that night, they sadly consider that they may miss the audition tomorrow, and Gonzo cheers up most of the group with a song about his longing to find his place in the world, while Kermit wanders off, ashamed of himself for seemingly bringing his friends into a dead end, and wondering whether his dreams were really worth leaving home for. Upon consulting a more optimistic vision of himself, Kermit remembers that it was not just his friends’ belief in the dream that brought them this far, but also his own faith in himself. Reinvigorated, he returns to camp to find that the Electric Mayhem and Scooter have read the script in advance, and arrived to help them the rest of the way.

Just as it seems they are finally on their way, the group is warned by Max that Doc Hopper has hired an assassin to kill Kermit. Kermit decides he will not be hunted by a bully any longer and proposes a Western-style showdown in a nearby ghost town inhabited by Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker, who invent materials that have yet to be tested. While confronting Hopper, Kermit explains his motivations, attempting to appeal to Hopper’s own hopes and dreams, but Hopper is unmoved and orders his henchmen to kill him and all his friends. They are saved only when one of Dr. Bunsen’s inventions, “insta-grow” pills, temporarily turns Animal into a giant, scaring off Hopper and his men.

The Muppets proceed to Hollywood, and are hired by producer and studio executive Lew Lord (Orson Welles). The Muppets attempt to make their first movie involving a surreal pastiche of their experiences. The first take suddenly erupts into a catastrophic explosion that makes a hole in the roof through which a portion of rainbow shines through on the Muppets. The film ends as the Muppets, joined by the characters from Sesame Street, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, the “The Land of Gorch” segment of Saturday Night Live, and the James Frawley Muppet to sing “Rainbow Connection.” Back in the screening room, Sweetums bursts through the screen having finally caught up with the rest of the Muppets.

REVIEW:

I just heard this week that they greenlit a sequel to The Muppets, so I decided to take the time to watch The Muppet Movie. I thought I had seen this before, but I don’t remember it, if I did, of course, it was released before I was born, so that may have had something to do with it.

What is this about?

After deciding to pursue a career in acting, Kermit the Frog goes on a cross-country trek to find fame in Hollywood. Along the way, he meets Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and the rest of the Muppets cast, and voilà, the Muppets are born.

What did I like?

Rainbow room. One of the things the Muppets are known for are the songs, whether they be catchy or heart wrenchingly beautiful, they grab your very soul and don’t let go. This is the case with the film’s opening number, “Rainbow Connection”. Not only is this a great melody, but it the cinematography leading up to it and introducing us to Kermit sitting in the swamp with his banjo really sets the mood.

Muppets. If you’re a fan of The Muppet Show, then you’ll see pretty much all of your favorites here. In a way, this film acts as a prequel to that program. For me, it was a blast to see all these characters again, and with the original voices. There is nothing like the warm tone of Jim Henson’s vocals coming from Kermit. No offense to the guy that currently lends his voice to our favorite frog.

Pacing. There is a nice pacing to this film. It isn’t slow nor does it slow down and bore the audience to death. Also, it slowly adds new characters, giving the audience time to invest in Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Miss Piggy, and the others before adding on even more. I thought this was genius and something that other films with massive ensemble pieces should consider doing, especially as we are getting to know them.

What didn’t I like?

Cameos. I was listening to a podcast this morning and they were discussing this film. For those that don’t know, it was released on DVD/Blu-ray this week, the “nearly” 35th anniversary. The topic that stood out to me was the cameos. These are big stars, Bog Hope, Steve Martin, Orson Welles, Richard Pryor, Mel Brooks, etc. However, in 2013, not many people now who they are, at least the younger generations. Hell, even I have to go to Wikipedia for some of them. Does that take anything away from the film? No, but I think there may have been a bit of overkill with the number of cameos.

Picture. This is a minor technical complaint, but still something that needs to be mentioned. I watched this on Netflix streaming just now. I’m one of those people who actually likes the grainy look as opposed to the crystal clear picture. There is just a charm to it that really appeals to me. I guess you can say it makes a film akin to a fine wine, it has aged gracefully. The Netflix version isn’t perfectly clear, but I do think it could have been more of what the original was. I can’t blame them, though, that probably goes back to the DVD that they burned onto their servers, or whatever the technical way they go about getting movies on-line is.

Chase. Kermit, and later Fozzie and the Muppets they pick up along the way, are being chased by the film’s antagonist, Doc Hopper. As far as I can tell, this guy just wants to take Kermit and make from legs out of him. He must think those are some damn good frog legs for him to give chase cross country. I’m sorry, but the plausibility of that was a bit too much for me to swallow. Perhaps I just missed something, but his motivation just seemed a bit cloudy as far as I was concerned.

You’d be hard pressed to find a better family picture than The Muppet Movie. This is one of those rare films that all generations can enjoy, though for different reasons, be it nostalgia, jokes, or what have you. I found very little fault in this, but I can’t get over a weak villain. Other than that, I highly recommend this as a must see before you die film. Check it out!

4 3/4 out of 5 stars

Music of the Heart

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Inspired by the true story of the Opus 118 Harlem School of Music and ‘Small Wonders’, a 1996 documentary about the school, the film opens with violinist Roberta having been deserted by her US Navy husband and feeling devastated, almost suicidal. Encouraged by her mother, she attempts to rebuild her life and a friend from student days recommends her to the head teacher of a school in the tough New York area of East Harlem. Despite a degree in music education, she has little experience in actual music teaching, but she’s taken on as a substitute violin teacher. With a combination of toughness and determination, she inspires a group of kids, and their initially skeptical parents. The program slowly develops and attracts publicity.

Ten years later, the string program is still running successfully at three schools, but suddenly the school budget is cut and Roberta is out of a job. Determined to fight the cuts, she enlists the support of former pupils, parents and teachers and plans a grand fund-raising concert, ‘Fiddlefest’, to raise money so that the program can continue. But with a few weeks to go and all participants furiously rehearsing, they lose the venue. Fortunately, the husband of a publicist friend is a violinist in the Guarneri Quartet, and he enlists the support of other well-known musicians, including Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman. They arrange for the concert to be mounted at Carnegie Hall.

Other famous musicians, including Mark O’Connor, Michael Tree, Charles Veal Jr., Arnold Steinhardt, Karen Briggs, Sandra Park, Diane Monroe, and Joshua Bell, join in the performance, which is a resounding success.

The film’s end credits declare that the Opus 118 program is still running successfully. They also report that the school’s funding was restored during the making of the film.

REVIEW:

Music of the Heart…what a title, huh? Just by hearing it, you’re automatically sent to a place of euphoria, or at the very least, your brain conjures up images of a romantic flick involving two musicians,right? Well, contrary to what you may believe, this is not a chick flick, but rather a true life drama, one that deals with a subject many public school deal with year after year.

What is this about?

The true story of a young teacher who fights against the board of education in her bid to teach underprivileged kids in a Harlem school the beauty of music through the violin. In her struggle she loses everything as the system comes down on her with all their might but her determination for the kids happiness helps her to battle back with wonderfully inspirational results

What did I like?

Meryl. It seems year after year, people are taking bets on if Meryl Streep can be beat because she is almost always up for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. The few year’s she isn’t, like this year, are those where she hasn’t done anything major, or has been laying low. Her performance in this film earned her a nomination, but not a win. As we have come to expect from Steep, she is nothing if not the consummate professional, oozing with talent, demure, and grace. Don’t even get me started on the fact that she actually learned how to play violin for this role. She earned even more respect from me for that, especially since in the 3 weeks I had to learn it in college, I sounded more like the beginners at this school.

Music class. As a musician, anything music related piques my interest, especially when it involves a music program on the verge of being shut down. That may be a reason why I love Mr. Holland’s Opus so much. This is a film that is along the same line, but rather than dealing with a musician who reluctantly takes over a music program only to have to be forced out many years later, this is a recent divorcee who needs a job and can teach violin.

Don’t talk down. One thing that I’ve noticed with flicks that deal with teachers coming in and taking over a classroom in the inner city is that they seem to talk down to them as if they are inferior citizens. There isn’t any of that going on here, except for the fact that these are elementary school kids, so you can’t exactly use big words, obviously. Great bit of writing done there, though part of it may be because of the way things in real life played out.

What didn’t I like?

Suddenly. The film is moving along at a decent pace and then, out of the blue, we are thrust into the part that deals with the violin program being shut down. Maybe it is just me, but I felt they could have handled that transition better instead of just throwing it in there like they didn’t really know how to bring the film to the final act.

Romance. I get that Streep’s character was a recent divorcee. That is fine and dandy but, and maybe this is just my guy genes kicking in, was there really a need to spend time on this? Last I checked, this wasn’t The Notebook, so there wasn’t any real need to get all into the relationship she has with these two men. Also, it took away from some time that could have been spent on the music.

Music. I only have one small problem with the music and that is that there wasn’t enough of it. I wasn’t expecting full symphonies, but a few more scenes with the violins, especially leading up to the big concert at Carnegie Hall would have been nice! I guess one thing can be said, and that is the soundtrack doesn’t feature heavy metal or hip hop (except for the scene with the guys working on her house). I just don’t think those would have fit the tone of this film very well.

When you talk about a feel good movie, Music of the Heart needs to be one of those that comes to mind. It has a great story that includes moments of drama and comedy, not to mention the fact that this film is partially responsible for the subject getting a permanent reprieve. You should definitely check this out as soon as possible. It should be a must-see, if for no other reason that to be shocked that it is directed by Wes Craven. Yes, the master of horror, Wes Craven!!!

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Longest Yard

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Paul “Wrecking” Crewe (Adam Sandler) is a former NFL player disgraced for shaving points in a big game. He gets in an argument with his rich girlfriend, Lena (Courteney Cox), regarding his failure. He locks her in a closet, gets drunk, and goes joyriding in her Bentley Continental GT through San Diego. After completely wrecking the car and disabling several police cruisers in the process, he gets arrested and convicted for grand theft auto and driving while intoxicated, and is sentenced to three years in Allenville Penitentiary in Texas.

In prison, Warden Hazen (James Cromwell) asks Crewe to help the prison guards’ football team. Crewe, under threat of an extra five years in prison for a falsified accusation of attacking Captain Knauer (William Fichtner), decides to help him. He informs Hazen that what his team needs is a tune-up game, in which they play a team like Appalachian State in order to boost morale. Hazen decides that Crewe, with the help of a fellow inmate, Caretaker (Chris Rock), will make a team out of the inmates for them to play as their tune-up game. He starts off with a poorly organized team, before being noticed by another prisoner, former college football star Nate Scarborough (Burt Reynolds), who decides to help him by coaching the team.

Crewe, Nate and Caretaker find a rating system on the criminals (up to five stars, depending on how prone to violence they are). They all set out to find and recruit some five star inmates: linebacker “Battle” (Bill Goldberg); fullback Turley (Dalip Singh Rana); and at safety, Torres (Lobo Sebastian), a chain-smoking outsider. But after realizing their team is built on power and nastiness (primarily on defense) and there is no offensive threats on the team, Crewe realizes he needs more players. Caretaker suggests that it is due to their lack of “brothers”, as they only have one currently on their team: defensive lineman Switowski (Bob Sapp), a childlike and friendly, but large strongman.

Crew approaches the black inmates, but one of them, Deacon Moss (Michael Irvin), says that none of them want to play on his team because of Crewe’s point-shaving history. So Crewe challenges Deacon to a 1-on-1 basketball game where if Crewe wins, the men will join the team. They play basketball and call their own fouls, with Crewe getting physically punished during the game. Despite Crewe losing, one of the black inmates, Earl Megget (Cornell “Nelly” Haynes, Jr.), is impressed by Crewe’s resilience and joins the team, which Deacon allows with no consequence. Megget becomes the team’s running back by impressing Crewe with his running ability.

After a tip from Unger (David Patrick Kelly) that Crewe and Meggett are the only real offensive threats on the team, Captain Knauer, the guards’ quarterback, decides that the guards should try to stop Megget by trying to get him to assault one of them and sticking him in solitary confinement. Three guards, Denham (Stone Cold Steve Austin), Garner (Brian Bosworth), and Engleheart (Kevin Nash) try to provoke Megget by using racial slurs and making him pick up books they dropped on the floor repeatedly. The guards give up on this after he withstands their harassment without being provoked. Witnessing this, Moss, “Cheeseburger” Eddy (Terry Crews), and the rest of black inmates agree to join the football team. Hazen and guards go to extreme lengths to stop Crewe’s squad, even flooding their field, but the team overcomes these obstacles.

Caretaker suggests that since the guards have been playing dirty, that the inmates should start acting more like criminals, such as swapping Engleheart’s anabolic steroids for estrogen pills, examining x-rays of guards with broken bones, and acquiring tapes of the guards’ past games from Hazen’s elderly secretary Lynette (Cloris Leachman), in exchange for Crewe playing sexual games with her. To sabotage the inmates’ morale, the guards Garner, Engleheart, Holland, and Lambert have Unger plant a bomb in Crewe’s cell during the inmates last practice. Crewe, deciding to stay with the team for their post-practice hype, doesn’t notice Caretaker going to Crewe’s cell to leave him a present. Unger, waiting for Crewe to enter his cell, doesn’t notice Caretaker going into Crewe’s cell. Caretaker places an old college piture of Crewe as a present on top of his radio. Caretaker listens to the “music” that Crewe was listening to (set up by Unger to provoke Caretaker to change the station) and does change the channel, causing the bomb to explode. Unger, still not knowing it was Caretaker, closes the cell door to keep any help from arriving. Crewe and Scarborough arrive too late and watch Caretaker burn to his death. At the funeral the next day, Crewe and the football team leave presents for Caretaker including a bible from Moss, Caretaker’s stopwatch and whistle from Scarborough, and a picture of his mother from Crewe that he showed him a few nights before.

During game day, the inmates, now calling themselves “Mean Machine”, with gear provided by the late Caretaker, overcome a rough start, and Crewe has to help the team realize that winning the game is more important than personal grudges. One of the referees is also corrupt, and Crewe has to coerce him to make fair calls by giving up two downs to throw the ball in his groin. The first half ends with the score tied. The angered Hazen informs Crewe that if he does not lose he would be framed for the murder of Caretaker. Crewe acquiesces to Hazen’s threat. After the guards score touchdowns while inflicting punishment on the inmates, while Crewe fakes an injury to leave the field. Crewe returns to the field, but the other inmates, believing he has returned to his old point-shaving ways, ignore him, and allow him to get tackled twice.

After losing his helmet and still getting the first down, Crewe admits his sabotage to the other inmates, and asks for their forgiveness. United again as a team, the Mean Machine scores two touchdowns to cut the guards’ lead to 35-28, but Megget injures his knee. Scarborough comes in for one play as replacement and scores a touchdown off a trick play involving a fumble called a Fumblerooski. They decide to go for the two point conversion, and the win. As they get up to the line they seem to be confused, and Crewe and Coach start arguing in order to trick the guards. Moss gets the snap and passes it to Crewe, who scores the winning conversion. Knauer, with a newfound respect for Crewe, lets him know that he will testify that Crewe had nothing to do with Caretaker’s death.

Hazen admonishes Knauer for losing a fixed game and notices that Crewe is heading towards the exit along with the fans. Retrieving a sniper-rifle, he demands that Crewe be shot for attempting to escape. Knauer hesitates because of the numerous people near Crewe. Knauer sights up Crewe, but hesitates again, calling out Crewe’s name to get him to stop. As Crewe picks up the game football and returns back, Knauer angrily hands the rifle back to Hazen and leaves, while Crewe gives the game ball to Hazen, telling them to place it in his trophy case.

Moss and Battle pour a cooler of Gatorade on Hazen in a mockery of a typical football game celebration. Hazen angrily shouts that they will receive a week in the hotbox. Battle yells back, “Who gives a shit!”

REVIEW:

I’ll admit that I haven’t seen the original version of The Longest Yard, yet, but I will be getting to it before the end of the year…hopefully. This version, though, is a decent football comedy that seems to take a few notes from Necessary Roughness, but is a little less about football, and more about the players. Is it worth watching, though?

It is an Adam Sandler flick, but, as I’ve said in reviews of some of his more current films, he seems to have “grown up” from the man-child he was in his Saturday Night Live and early film career. Having said that, I still found myself wanting him to bring Bobby Boucher from out of nowhere. Yeah, I’m weird like that.

So, what worked for me?

Football. Here we are in the end of April. Baseball is getting ready to take over the airwaves for the next 3 1/2 months, especially after the NBA playoffs (which just started a few minutes ago) are over. I’m not one of those guys who gets into the NFL draft, so, aside from playing Madden and NCAA football on my PS3, I needed some football, and getting it and a nice little comedic film is a nice two-fer for me.

Michael Irvin. As a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, it was great to see the hall of fame receiver out there. What was even better was seeing him in #88 again. If that wasn’t enough, the guy isn’t a bad actor.

Relationships. More often than not, films just throw characters out there and expect us to believe they’re suddenly friends (or enemies). This film doesn’t do that, but rather plays up the relationship amongst them, be it positive or negative.

Bob Sapp. The big guy is so lovable that its hard to not feel sorry for him, even if he does seem a little…off. Of course, the whole time I was just waiting for him to snap, which finally did sort of happen when Nelly told him something during the game.

Nelly’s library scene. I’m not a fan of Nelly, but like most of the world, I had “Hot in Here” and the rest of his stuff from around that time cranked up in my car. Like Michael Irvin, I was surprised with how good of an actor the guy seems to be (especially compared to some other rappers who make movies). This is best shown in the scene where he is in the library and getting harassed by he redneck guards. If you look on his face, you can tell he wants to reciprocate, but instead he holds it in and takes the ribbing with a smile. It is because of this that the black inmates join the team.

What didn’t work?

Wrestlers. Look, I have nothing against wrestlers. Fact is almost all of them played football before stepping into the ring. The Rock played at Miami, Goldberg actually made it on the Atlanta Falcons, etc. However, one would think that for a movie about football, they would have tried to get football players, first. Granted, they did have most of the wrestlers as guards that were described as “not making it past the college level”, which is what wrestlers are, if you think about it.

Expensive equipment. The guards practice facilities and whatnot looked like the kind of stuff you would see at some upper high school or lower college in Texas (which it probably was). That’s all fine and dandy, except that this stuff was paid for with taxpayer money. I just can’t see that going over very well.

Courtney Cox. So, Sandler is supposed to be this hotshot, washed up quarterback. Obviously, he’s going to have a hot girlfriend. This is how we get Courtney Cox. However, I think they could have done better. I may be a bit biased, though. Haven’t really thought she was that hot since Friends, but maybe to him she was the bee’s knees.

So, what is the final verdict onThe Longest Yard?It is a decent football flick that is helped by the small cameo roles that its “stars” all play. Sandler may actually be the weakest part, and yet he is the official star. Sad, but true. I still say this is a definite must-see football film, for those that are into the genre. I highly recommend it!

4 out of 5 stars

Beavis and Butt-head Do America

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

After a surreal Godzilla-esque dream, Beavis and Butt-head wake up to realize that someone has stolen their television. The pair then embark on a quest to replace it. After stealing and destroying a TV from school (resulting in their expulsion) and ruining the TV in Tom Anderson’s camper, they visit a low-quality motel that advertises “TVs in every room”. There, they encounter a drunken Muddy Grimes (Bruce Willis), who is waiting for two hired hit men, the same guys who stole Beavis and Butt-head’s television, to murder his wife, Dallas.

Muddy, thinking that Beavis and Butt-Head are the killers he has contacted, says that they must “do” (murder) his wife. Thinking that by “do”, Muddy means “score with”, Butt-Head convinces Beavis that both of them can “score”. Muddy then hands them a photograph of Dallas with instructions on where to find her. Beavis asks if they can watch TV first, and Muddy subsequently shoots it. He drives them to the airport to catch the plane to her hotel room on the Las Vegas Strip. During the plane ride, both Beavis and Butt-Head manage to cause chaos and Beavis consumes massive quantities of caffeine pills given to him by an old woman (Cloris Leachman). He subsequently transforms into Cornholio, and almost causes the plane to crash when be barges into the cockpit and scares the pilots.

After causing a mild stir in a Las Vegas casino, the boys find themselves in their hotel room, which is adjacent to the room of the hunted woman, Dallas Grimes (Demi Moore). Dallas soon realizes they have no idea what they are actually hired for. While Beavis and Butt-Head begin fighting over who will “do” Dallas first, the police arrive to arrest her. Thinking quickly, she plants a stolen biological weapon known as the “X-5 Unit” in Beavis’ pants in order to get rid of it as evidence. She then gets them tickets on a coach to Washington, D.C. instructing them that she will be waiting for them in the Capitol of the United States and will let them “do her” there.

The stolen biological weapon attracts the attention of the ATF, headed by Agent Flemming (Robert Stack) who orders a body cavity search on everyone he encounters and in spite of his tough talk, relies on fellow Agent Bork’s (Greg Kinnear) assistance, virtually all the time. Agent Flemming becomes convinced that the duo are criminal masterminds after accidentally destroying the Hoover Dam, by effectively cutting the power to Las Vegas. On the tour bus, they visit landmarks including the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park. After becoming stranded in Petrified Forest National Park, they wander through the desert and meet two drifters (Earl Hofert and Tony Darling) who strongly resemble them. The men, former Motley Crue roadies, tell them that they once hooked up with two “sluts” from the boys’ hometown of Highland, Texas, 15 years earlier. They also share similar personalities, as evidenced by Beavis’ father’s fascination with fire, and Butt-head’s father’s pulling down his pants and farting in the fire, creating a large fireball. Neither the men nor the boys make the obvious connection of their parentage, and the drifters abandon Beavis and Butt-head before they wake up the next morning. The boys then continue to trek through the desert, and, after munching on a peyote cactus, Beavis goes into a mescaline induced hallucination, featuring music by White Zombie with animation inspired by Rob Zombie.

The next day, they are found by Muddy, after nearly dying of dehydration. Muddy decides to take them the rest of the way in his trunk to hunt down Dallas, and they spend the trip laughing at his car jack and pretending to masturbate. In the middle of I-81 in Virginia, Butt-Head jacks the trunk open, and they escape by jumping onto the road, causing an 18-wheeler to swerve off the road, resulting in a huge, 400-car pileup. Beavis and Butt-head casually walk past the scene and get back on the tour bus, stopping at the United States Capitol Building before finally reaching the White House. Before Dallas can meet with Beavis and Butt-Head to recover the weapon, she is confronted in the parking garage by Muddy, who flies into a rage when he realizes that the two managed to escape from his trunk. Muddy and Dallas then briefly reconcile before they are arrested by the ATF while having sex in Muddy’s car. Faced with the possibility of a 60-year jail sentence, Dallas betrays Muddy by saying that he hid the weapon “in some kid’s [Beavis] pants”, ironically she still gets the sentence.

The ATF is dispatched to the White House due to Beavis and Butt-Head being there on the same day as the “Give Peace A Chance” conference. Beavis consumes caffeine pills (following a fight with the bus driver), sugar and coffee while on the White House tour, then transforms into Cornholio again. He wanders around the White House and picks up the red phone in the Oval Office, causing the military to go to DEFCON 4. Meanwhile, Butt-Head also wanders around the White House and encounters Chelsea Clinton in her bedroom, making a pass at her. She promptly throws him out the window, where ATF enforcers detain him and perform a cavity search on him. Beavis leaves the White House and looks at the photo of Dallas before going to masturbate in Tom Anderson’s camper. Anderson discovers Beavis and throws him out of the camper, and the ATF spots Beavis walking around pants-less. They think he has the weapon on him and are just about to open fire when Anderson opens his camper door, telling Beavis to take his pants with him, which causes the ATF to go after the pants. The pants are ripped open, with the weapon flying out of them. The weapon, landing safely in Butt-Head’s hand, is recovered. Blame for the incident is ultimately pinned on Anderson, who is arrested along with Dallas and Muddy. Agent Flemming informs Beavis and Butt-Head that their adventure will remain top secret. President Bill Clinton then makes Beavis and Butt-head honorary ATF agents, and gives them a contract for unlimited alcohol and firearms.

Not too much later, they return to Highland and find their TV in front of the hotel. The film ends with them carrying their TV into the sunset while insulting each other with various names, such as ‘Ass-Goblin’.

REVIEW:

I was in high school when Beavis and Butt-head first came on MTV. At that time, though, my dad decided that the one year we actually had cable was enough, so I only got to see a few episodes. Fast forward a few years and thanks to YouTube and Netflix I was able to see what I missed. Oh, and then there’s the little fact that they came back to the airwaves back in October. So, what better way to start off 2012 and celebrate the legacy of Beavis and Butt-head than with Beavis and Butt-head Do America?

If you know anything about these guys, then you know it’s all about utter stupidity and nothing more. So, how does this work as a film? Better than you might think, as a matter of fact.

Often times, when television characters make the jump to the big screen, they seem to lose something in translation, if you will. The only thing Beavis and Butt-head lose is the fact that they don’t make fun of any music videos. Of course, that has to do with the plot point of the missing television, though.

Said plot involves the two getting their television stolen and, through their own ineptitude, getting drawn into a federal investigation due to their involvement with a guy who thinks they’re a couple of guys hired to assassinate his wife. I think you can guess what happens from there, right?

No need to really go into the plot and story, from there. It is your usual hijinks we get from these two. Basically, you’re either going to like it or not. I don’t know anyone who is straddling the fence on these guys, come to think of it now.

The animation here looks a little different from the cartoon. Not radically different like the difference between the first and second seasons of The Boondocks, but it does seem to resemble something more like Heavy Metal, to me for some reason.

Voice casting is a vast upgrade from the show. Bankable names, especially at this time, like Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, Cloris Leachman, and Robert Stack lend their talents to this flick. Moore and Willis actually are married, or divorced, rather here.

You wouldn’t think they would lower themselves to something like this, and yet they sound like they really enjoyed it. Well, at least Willis does. Demi sounds like she’s just reading the lines on the page.

Some of the best moments of the film involve the music. Take for instance the opening credits scene where they go into this 70s  Shaft-esque groove. I think they may have even gotten Isaac Hayes to write it. The show is known more for their love of metal, so of course there is some good headbanger music. They have a hallucination to some White Zombie music, which apparently was animated by Rob Zombie.

Final verdict on Beavis and Butt-head Do America? This is one of the underrated gems of the mid-90s. Dare I say, it has ben forgotten by the public, which is a genuine shame because it has all the making of a great comedic film, especially if you’re into the  kind of humor that these two have provided for years, and hopefully will continue to bring us for years to come. I highly recommend this film to anyone that just needs a film that doesn’t require you to do anything other than sit and watch. So, watch and enjoy!

5 out of 5 stars

Spanglish

PLOT:

Flor Moreno (Paz Vega), a poor, Mexican, single mother gets hired as the housekeeper for John (Adam Sandler) and Deborah Clasky (Téa Leoni), their kids, Bernice (Sarah Steele) and Georgie (Ian Hyland), and Deborah’s mother Evelyn Wright (Cloris Leachman), a rich, white American family. Flor’s daughter, Cristina is played by Shelbie Bruce. Flor, Cristina, and John are very likeable while Deborah is mean, self-centered, and apathetic to her daughter. Evelyn is a carefree drunk.

Flor doesn’t speak English so Cristina translates for her when she needs to talk to the family. Bilingual, skinnier, and overall kind, Cristina impresses Deborah, whom she begins to treat like her own daughter, taking Cristina shopping, getting her hair done, enrolling her in a private school, and showing her more love than her own daughter.

Flor becomes unhappy when it appears that Cristina is influenced by Deborah. This is in part because she wants Cristina to keep in touch with her roots, and partly because Deborah is overstepping her bounds by acting like Cristina’s mother. Flor objects to the family’s overreaching with Cristina to which John is apologetic.

Flor learns English so she can communicate with them better wherein John and Flor talk more and become closer.

When Evelyn realizes that her daughter is having an affair and that her marriage is in trouble, she sobers up and tells Deborah to knock it off because she’ll never get another man as good as John. As Flor heads to their house, Deborah confesses to John that she cheated on him. John walks out, and runs into Flor on the way and they go to his restaurant to “hang out”. They have the “greatest conversation of their lives” and confess their love for one another, but Flor leaves and John never mentions that Deborah cheated on him.

Flor quits and takes her daughter home. She tells Cristina that she doesn’t want her to go to the private school anymore either, upsetting Cristina and causing her to scream that Flor is ruining her life. Flor tells Cristina that it is time for her to decide the most important question of her life: “Is what you want for yourself to become something very different than me?”. Cristina doesn’t respond and on their bus ride home she initially sits away from Flor, but ends up embracing her for the duration of their ride.

The film ends with Cristina as an adult, years later, acknowledging that “all she is today” rests on the simple fact that she is her mother’s daughter.

REVIEW:

Adam Sandler films tend to be more on the slapstick side of comedy, and not so much on the more serious side of things, yet Spanglish, starts out as a light hearted happy film, but ends up a borderline chick flick.

The film’s plot centers around a Mexican immigrant (we’ll say she is) who can’t speak English and becomes the nanny for a well to do chef and his obnoxious, talkative wife. As the film progresses, we get to know more about each of the characters, as they are extremely well developed. We get a conflict based in infidelity, but are left with an ending that feels a bit empty.

Storywise, this is a very strong film, capable of hanging with the “artsy-fartsty” films, but because of it being a comedy, it doesn’t get the respect it deserves.

Adam Sandler turns in a mature performance, yet maintains a bit of his “Sandler-ness”. I was mostly impressed with how he handled his character’s conflict over becoming a 4-star chef and wanting to avoid shunning the little people. He also impressed me with how he portrayed the emotions dealing with his wife cheating on him and the feeling he has for the nanny.

Paz Vega had quite the introduction to US audiences with this film, even if she does look like Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz. I’m not sure, but I think she took a page out of Antonio Banderas’ book, and didn’t learn English until she got an American film role. Having said that, it is quite possible that the scenes in which we see her learning English were genuine. If that is the case, then her performance is that more impressive.

Tea Leoni started out as a decent character, but as the film progressed, she took a downturn. What kind of woman bosses her husband around, cheats on him, more or less calls her daughter fat, basically steals her nanny’s daughter, and just makes everything about her? Then when she thinks that Sandler runs into the arms of Vega, she gets all emotional about it, knowing full well that she had been cheating on him for 11 weeks. Stuff like that can earn you a spot on the most despised list.

The word “spanglish” wasn’t an everyday word, I believe, until this film was released. I cannot belive that with the cultural impact this picture has had that it didn’t do that well. I guess now that I think about it, I can. There are more than a few films that bombed at the box office on;y to go on and become cult hits on video or DVD.

Spanglish is one of those films that dances  a fine line between comedy and drama, occasionally tipping over to one side or the other, but never getting to the point of over-seriousness, even in the serious parts. This really surprised me, because I didn’t know what to expect from it. Pleasant surprises are always good, and I hope that after watching this you’ll be as pleasantly surprised and entertained as I was.

4 out of 5 stars

Young Frankenstein

PLOT:

Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) is a respected lecturer at an American medical school and is more or less happily (though blandly) engaged to the tightly wound Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn). Frederick becomes exasperated when anyone brings up the subject of his grandfather, the famous mad scientist, to the point of insisting that his name is pronounced “Fronk-en-steen”.

A solicitor informs Frederick that he has inherited his family’s estate. Traveling to said estate in Transylvania, Frankenstein meets his comely new lab assistant Inga (Teri Garr), along with the household servants Frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman) and Igor (Marty Feldman) (who, after hearing Frederick claim his name is pronounced “Fronkensteen” counter-claims that his is pronounced “Eye-gor.”)

Inga assists Frederick in discovering the secret entrance to his grandfather’s laboratory. Upon reading his grandfather’s private journals the doctor is inspired to resume his grandfather’s experiments in re-animating the dead. He and Igor successfully exhume and spirit away the enormous corpse of a recently executed criminal, but Igor’s attempt to steal the brain of a revered scientist from the local “brain depository” goes awry, and he takes one labeled, “Do Not Use This Brain! Abnormal” instead.

The doctor and reassembled monster (Peter Boyle) are elevated on a platform to the roof of the laboratory during a lightning storm. The experimenters are first disappointed when the electrically charged creature fails to come to life, but the reassembled monster eventually revives. The doctor assists the monster in walking but, frightened by Igor lighting a match, it attacks Frederick and must be sedated. Upon being asked by the doctor whose brain was obtained, Igor confesses that he supplied “Abby Normal’s” brain and becomes the subject of a strangulation attempt himself.

Meanwhile, the local townspeople are uneasy at the possibility of Frederick continuing his grandfather’s work. Most concerned is Inspector Kemp (Kenneth Mars), who sports an eyepatch, a jointed and extremely creaky wooden arm, and an accent so thick even his own countrymen cannot understand him. Kemp visits the doctor and subsequently demands assurance that he will not create another monster. Upon returning to the lab, Frederick discovers that Frau Blücher is setting the creature free. After she reveals the monster’s love of music, and her own romantic relationship with Frederick’s grandfather, the creature is enraged by sparks from a thrown switch, and escapes from the Frankenstein castle.

While roaming the countryside, the Monster has frustrating encounters with a young girl and a blind hermit; these scenes directly parody ones from the original Frankenstein movies. Frederick recaptures the monster, wins him over with flattery, and finally fully acknowledges his heritage. After a period of training, he offers some illustrious guests the sight of “The Creature” following simple commands. The demonstration continues with Frederick and the Monster launching into the musical number “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, complete with top hats and tails, which ends disastrously when a stage light explodes and frightens the monster. He becomes enraged and charges into the audience where he is captured and chained by police.

After being tormented by a sadistic jailer, the Monster escapes again, then kidnaps and ravishes the not-unwilling Elizabeth when she arrives unexpectedly for a visit. Elizabeth falls in love with the creature due to his inhuman stamina and his enormous penis (referred to as Schwanstuker or Schwanzstück—a malapropism from German Schwanz, “tail”, and Stück, “piece”).

The townspeople, led by Inspector Kemp, hunt for the Monster. Desperate to get the creature back and correct his mistakes, Frederick plays music and lures the Monster back to the castle. Just as the Kemp-led mob storms the laboratory, Dr. Frankenstein transfers some of his stabilizing intellect to the creature who, as a result, is able to reason with and placate the mob. The film ends happily, with Elizabeth married to the now erudite and sophisticated Monster, while Inga joyfully learns what her new husband Frederick got in return from the Monster during the transfer procedure (the Monster’s Schwanzstück).

REVIEW:

Mel Brooks’ film are the American equivalent to the Monty Python flicks. Hilarious spoofs and satire on society that never take themselves seriously, and yet they are some of the best films ever made.

Gene Wilder is a comic genius. Teaming up with Mel Brooks to make this film all but guaranteed this would be a hit. Wilder is eccentric, wild, and hilarious as Dr. Frankenstein…er…Fronkenstein.

Marty Feldman and Teri Garr are very capable supporting actors. Feldman uses his unique look to play the perfect Igor, as well as his comic background. Garr uses her God-given beauty to the fullest extent as the sexy lab assistant Inga.

Peter Boyle makes a great monster, at least for this film. Not saying that he was bad, but his portrayal fits more in the spoof version than in a more serious interpretation. Still, Boyle is an intimidating presence.

Kenneth Mars may have given the best performance of the film. His Inspector Kemp was quite eccentric and took a very capable actor trained in physical comedy to pull it off.

Mel Brooks fought to not have this in black and white, but in hindsight, I wonder if he would change his min about fighting that fight. Since this is a spoof on those old horror films of yesteryear, putting it in black and white just makes sense. I don’t think this would have worked as well in color, at least from a visual standpoint.

When I first looked at this film, I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. Of course, that was at a time before I gained an appreciation for classic cinema. Now that I can appreciate it for what its worth, this is quite the enjoyable film, especially if you’re a fan of classic horror films like I am. All in all, though, this is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, but then again, when has Mel Brooks ever made a bad film?

4 out of 5 stars