Mel Brooks’ idea for making a silent movie was great, but the film doesn’t capitalize on its potential. Brooks plays Mel Funn, a recovering alcoholic film director who hasn’t had a hit in ages. Along with his sidekicks Marty Eggs (Marty Feldman, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN) and Dom Bell (Dom DeLuise, THE LOVED ONE), they set out to make a silent film.
Their Studio Chief (Sid Caesar, GREASE) doesn’t think it’s a good idea, but Funn sells it by saying he’ll get big stars. The Studio Chief is desperate because a huge conglomerate Engulf & Devour, run by Engulf (Harold Gould, THE STING) and Devour (Ron Carey, HISTORY OF THE WORLD: PART I), are staging a hostile takeover of Big Pictures Studio.
The film really works when it uses the clichés and conventions of a silent film to get laughs. I love when it uses title cards to either comment or counter the action happening on the screen. However, the film fails to completely captivate because the plot is just an excuse to string gags together.
You could say that about all silent comedies, but Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd knew how to weave the gags into the narrative seamlessly and create central characters with real pathos. Brooks doesn’t seem to care about the characters only the gags, which at times are older than most silent films. Cameos from stars Burt Reynolds, James Caan, Liza Minnelli, Anne Bancroft and Paul Newman have varying levels of success, but legendary mime Marcel Marceau gets one of the biggest laughs in the film.
In the end, the film serves as a “big production” comedy that doesn’t fire on all cylinders. Mel Brooks fans should certainly check it out, but others should skip it and find Brooks’ greatly underrated LIFE STINKS.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
