I certainly understand why people think Stiller is funny, but like you, it’s not all that funny to me. He plays pretty heavy on the outrageously embarrassing bit, but I find that kind of humor to be hard to watch. I liked him better in Zoolander, which in itself was not that great of a film.
Bupkis. Spaceballs and Robin Hood: Men In Tights are still a riot.
A lot of Brooks humor is shock value, to be sure, but absurdity enters into it as well. That’s why Young Frankenstein remains so funny – you can’t get any more absurd than Marty Feldman. Spaceballs and Robin Hood also have a lot of absurdist humor and go lightly on the offensive jokes. Admittedly, they’re heavy on pop culture references, which can date them and make them less funny to newer generations.
Some Brooks movies are indeed heavy with the offense, so much so that they become worthless when they’re edited for TV. History of the World is the victim I’m most familiar with; just about every single joke in there is offensive, rude, or crude, and the TV-safe result is only mildly amusing. But even if a lot of it is shock value, there’s pure gems in there:
“Give to Oedipus! Give to Oedipus! …Hey, Josephus!”
“Hey, motherfucker!”
And no matter how many times I see it, no matter how often I visualize it, I always crack up at:
Vespa: “I am Princess Vespa, daughter of Roland, king of Druidia!”
Lonestar: “…That’s all we needed. A Druish princess.”
Mog [turning to mug at the camera]: “Funny. She doesn’t look Druish.”
I know it’s coming, I can play the scene over and over in my head, and it never loses its hilarity. It’s possible I simply have a very low threshold for humor, but most of Brooks’ stuff passes it easily.
Just wanna take a second to pay homage to Spinal Tap’s precursor, the SNL / MPFC’s: The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash
When it’s shown on network TV in the states they cover the fart noises with horses whinnying. Who knew farts went against the ratings codes?
An excellent description. All the race stuff in Blazing Saddles is still outrageously funny – even moreseo today, actually, because there’s no way such a film could have gotten made any time in the last 10 years – and the cast is uniformly excellent (although that’s twue of Young Frankenstien as well). But there are long stretches of Blazing Saddles with rather few laughs.
On the other hand, it’s also got one of the top five funniest bits of all time “Do you realize that man is a ni-- Sorry, wrong guy. Do you realize that man is a ni–?” For me, that’s one of those lines that you’re so familiar with that as it’s coming up you have to struggle to keep from laughing too soon and stepping on it.
–Cliffy
P.S. I agree that Love & Death is brilliant. “Tell Boris this. After many trials und tribulations I have found that the best thing…” “Yes? Yes?” “is blonde, twelve-year-old girls. Two of them were never possible.”
Guess I’ve got some movies to see. “The Big Lebowski” and “Love and Death” better not suck as much as “The Producers”, though. I’m warning you. {shakes finger at people recommending movies}
I don’t know if I’d list it as funniest movie ever, but Peter Sellers’ “The Party” is definitely worth a watch if you liked the other movies listed here. It’s dated and spotty, but it has laugh out loud moments with Peter Sellers doing what he did best.
A classic!
“Birdy Num-Num”
My Favorite Year deserves a mention, if only because Mark Linn-Baker was funnier in any five minutes of this film then the entire run of Perfect Strangers.
One of my all time favorite movies but not a laugh riot like BS
Well, if it’s riots you want, I nominate Bad Santa. The boxing scene never fails to kill me.
Love and Death is very funny, but far more cerebral than any Mel Brooks film.
I own Big Lebowski and have watched it at least 6 times. I think I’ve laughed maybe 6 times at it. It’s just not that funny, IMO. O Brother was a far funnier Coen Bros. film.
“Hrmp! My hair!”
“Oh, that poor man!”
The first time I saw this scene I laughed so hard I almost fell on the floor of the movie theater. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder at any one scene in a movie.
And don’t forget Lili von Shtupp’s song:
“They’re always coming and going,
and going and coming,
and always too soon.”
Yup, Blazing Saddles is one of my favorites. But the ending does kinda make it all wonky.
The post-modern surreal absurdity of the ending of Blazing Saddles is what makes all the anachronisms, homages and referential humor up until then work. It goes on a tangent and fearlessly follows it to its own conclusion. I have never seen another movie like it just dive off into the weird (the fistfight spilling over into the “real world” movie lot) and then calmly reign its way back again (with Bart and the Waco Kid going in the theater to watch the end of their own movie) and gently glide back into the weird (as the movie Bat and Waco drive off into the sunset in a Hollywood limo.)
Not nearly enough praise has been given to Harvey Korman’s brilliant exceution of Hedley Lamarr as one of the funniest, most bombastic, scheming, conniving, horny and sexually obsessive late 19th century movie villains ever. I expect decent minded Dopers who follow this post in this thread to rectify this immediately by nominating him for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
“Now go do… that voodoo… that you do… so…well!”
Blazing Saddles is definitely in my top 5, along with Young Frankenstein. Any poster who has posted that BS is not funny has been placed on my “pay no mind” list. Nothing you ever say in any post about any subject can be taken seriously. Your worldview is seriously skewed and you cannot be relied upon to make a witty or insightful statement to save your life.[sup]1[/sup] If forced to round out my top 5, I’d have to say Dr. Strangelove, The Pink Panther, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with an honorable mention to A Fish Called Wanda.
[sup]1[/sup]If you take this statement seriously, I really will put you on my “pay no mind” list
Listen, Bart…
Around 1999, I was the only one of my friends who had seen The Producers (which I also put above BS), so I gathered the rest of them together and played it for them. They were QUITE surprised by that great shot that reveals
the dancers in swastika formation, which I think is the best joke in the whole movie.
That may be less surprising now, because the musical has become a big hit and that just makes Nazi humor that much more common. Still, great movie, and I agree with many of your other points.
My top five… yiy. Duck Soup (#1), A Night at the Opera (non-musical parts), A Fish Called Wanda, The Big Lebowski, and… hmm. YF/Producers?
Put me down in the ‘never liked Something About Mary’ camp.
It’s “You said ‘rape’ twice.”
People, people… can’t we all get along?
With the miracle of DVD technology we have room for all these movies! Besides, some styles of funny just can’t be compared to others. I like my movies to have quotes that make me giggle both in and out of context.
Blazing Saddles beats Young Frankenstein on quotability and post movie giggles.
Woody Allen style humor has never amused me.
Something about Mary was a horror movie wasn’t it? I know I cringe whenever anyone mentions playing it.
Holy Grail was slightly funnier in the middle than Life of Brian, but of course Brian had much funnier ending. Both tie as reigning champions of Quote movies.
Airplane stands alone on the top of the hill in it’s underwear, daring us to kock it ff the hill of funny.
Pink Panther is funny, but I just don’t put it at the of my list. Too much action and intrigue interfering with the humor.
And no list of funny movies would be complete without The Jerk.
I gotta say **Young Frankenstein ** is my favorite over BS.
“Vootschteps! Vootschteps! Vootschteps!” (gotta do the little stompy dance)
Slim Pickens is my favorite in BS.
“What in the wide, wide-world of sports is going on here?”
“Someone go back and get us a shitload of dimes”.
Blazing Saddles has always been my number one, followed by Airplane and It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.
Can’t believe no one mentioned airplane. Sheesh.