Zero and Wiz RECOMMEND Young Frankenstein
Yes yes, it's not a surprise that Young Frankenstein is a funny movie. Ever since it originally released, it's considered one of the best comedies to come out of the Hollywood system when it comes to satires. With that, this isn't a shock.
What was surprising when watching the film was how well Mel Brooks shot the film to give it that distinct feel of a Universal monster movie while maintaining it's ridiculous nature.
This is a bigger deal than you might think: satires tend to deliberately "silly up" the story so you know nothing is to be taken seriously so it won't confuse the audience.
Young Frankenstein doesn't really silly up the mood, locations or even the lighting: it is taken fairly seriously in it's gothic motif. The only thing about this film that isn't taken seriously are the characters.
And it's these characters that make the entire film work.
Although not all the characters really work comedically, the characters that were the funniest were Inga (a smoking Teri Garr), Igor (Marty Feldman) and especially The Monster (Peter Boyle).
Inga and Igor are the sillier elements that surround Dr. Frankenstein and they generally make the film funny when dealing with each other.
But it's Boyle's Monster that has some of the best physical comedy in the film. He manages to play the character well as something to be fear, but light enough to not take him seriously. The Monster has some of the funniest scenes in the film, which is thanks to Boyle.
What was most surprising to learn is how much Gene Wilder plays it largely straight. He does have some silly and funny scenes, but he's largely the one that everyone bounces off of. He's a good straight man, for sure, but it was just surprising to realize he really wasn't the main comedic force in the film.
But is this Brooks' best film? Wiz doesn't think so, though it's hard to imagine anything Brooks does would be better than Blazing Saddles. But if you are fans of any of his work, Young Frankenstein is still as funny as it was decades ago when it released.
