# What is the greatest Mel Brooks movie, and why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 9, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946 "2009-11-09T21:30:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/101 "2009-11-10T21:42:45Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Teri Garr screwed up "Tootsie’. In some countries they would execute you on the spot for spouting such heresy. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/102 "2009-11-10T21:47:10Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > The silence must be deafening. 😛 You left out “Comb the desert!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/103 "2009-11-10T21:52:17Z")
Another _Spaceballs_ fan checking in. Yep, it’s silly and stupid and all that. But no one does silly and stupid better than Mel Brooks. And Rick Moranis in a dark helmet is one of the funniest images ever. Loved the scene with him playing clandestine erotic games with his little plastic figurines. Also the “Mr. Coffee” mixup! More (paraphrasing) quotes: “Khkkhhh . . . chhhkkhchh . . .” “You can read that?” “No, I’m just clearing my throat.” “What a coincidence! That’s the code combination for _my_ luggage!” “Pizza the Hutt is gonna call out for YOU!” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/104 "2009-11-10T22:54:55Z")
When I saw the thread title, I thought to myself, “Young Frankenstein, largely because of what’s-her-name the hot lab assistant”. Once again, **Skald** and I turn out to have very similar tastes in women. Teri Garr is always a babe, but as a _nerdy_ babe? Mmm, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/105 "2009-11-10T23:26:54Z")
Blazing Saddles #1. It succeeds over Young Frankenstein in the same manner that a hockey team would succeed over a figure skater. You can talk all day about refinement, poise, perfection, and performance, but in the end you are going to remember body-checks, fights, screaming fans, and Gretzky’s effortless hat trick. “I’m so tiwed…tiwed of pwaying the game…” “That’s Hedley!” “Mongo only pawn in game of life” “Where all the white women at?” ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/106 "2009-11-10T23:33:20Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Teri Garr screwed up "Tootsie’. It was unbelievable that the hero would leave Teri to go after Jessica Lange. Such complete impossibility makes the movie hard to follow after that. I agree. Teri was miscast. Not that Jessica Lange was anything to sneeza ya nose at, at least not before she chose to screw up her face with the most unnecessary plastic surgery of all time. I also think TG was much better than the material. I’m a huge fan of Dustin Hoffman, but I’ve always considered Tootsie to be one of the most overrated movies ever. . ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/107 "2009-11-11T04:13:35Z")
Spaceballs probably isn’t nearly as fun as I remember, because I liked it when I was like 12 years old. I bet it wouldn’t hold up at all if I watched it again, but it’s what I remember most fondly so I picked it. Ironically even though I saw the movie like 8 times as a kid, I could never sit through any of the star wars movies because they bored me to death. So I never fully saw the movies they were parodying, although since Star Wars is so deeply ingrained into pop culture I got most of the references anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/108 "2009-11-11T04:38:53Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Spaceballs probably isn’t nearly as fun as I remember, because I liked it when I was like 12 years old. I bet it wouldn’t hold up at all if I watched it again, but it’s what I remember most fondly so I picked it. No, it is as fun as you remember. “I knew it, I’m surrounded by Assholes! _thunk_ _Keep firing, Assholes_!” And the intro with Spaceball 1 never fails to set me off in giggles. Maybe it’s just because I have the mind of a 12 year old. Still, for _best_ Mel Brooks film I have to go with Blazing Saddles. It’s simply timeless. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/109 "2009-11-11T05:30:41Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I agree. Teri was miscast. Not that Jessica Lange was anything to sneeza ya nose at, at least not before she chose to screw up her face with the most unnecessary plastic surgery of all time. No, you’re thinking of [Jennifer Grey’s nose job](http://www.lugaluda.com/2009/09/15/jennifer-grey-nose-job-jennifer-grey-before-and-after-photo/). Easy mistake to make though. ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/110 "2009-11-11T21:47:07Z")
Blazing Saddles a hair above Young Frankenstein. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/111 "2009-11-17T22:32:35Z")
Negro LOVE songs? What are you, Rush Limbaugh? Negro WORK songs, or better still Negro SLAVE songs. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/112 "2009-11-17T22:34:50Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > Negro LOVE songs? > > What are you, Rush Limbaugh? > > Negro WORK songs, or better still Negro SLAVE songs. First, it’s _nigger_. Second, Rhymers are not infallible. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/113 "2009-11-17T23:42:30Z")
I had to go with YF. Blazing Saddles is more hilariously quotable, but the end is a bit of mess, and YF is such a great balance of pitch-perfect homage and wonderful parody. (Since I wanted natural childbirth, my husband and I decided to have a “safeword” that I could use if I really, really wanted pain medication, as opposed to perhaps just yelling, in a transient fit of desperation “can’t they drug me?” or something. The safeword was “sedagive.”) I really think High Anxiety deserves a place on the poll much more than Dracula or even Spaceballs. “That kid gets no tip.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/114 "2009-11-18T19:17:08Z")
Had to flip a shitload of dimes to choose between _YF_ and _BS_. And when they still tied, I decided to break it down - Dr. Jack style! Lead Actors - Gene Wilder vs Cleavon Little. Cleavon did a great job, but he was a last minute sub for Richard Pryor. Wilder has the advantage of being the screenwriter, and he seems to connect with his character a bit more than Cleavon. **SLIGHT EDGE** - _YF_ Supporting Actors - Marty Feldman vs. Gene Wilder In _BS_ Wilder never really stole his scenes like Feldman did. **BIG EDGE** - _YF_ Comic Relief - Alex Karras, Harvey Korman, Slim Whitman vs. Chloris Leachman, Madelaine Kahn, J. Kemp - A tough match-up, as both movies are loaded with talent. But, to me, ‘Mongo only pawn in game of life’ tips this category. **EDGE** - _BS_ Babe-i-tude - Terri Garr vs. Madelaine Kahn - Two top performers. Garr is, in my opinion, the better looking of the two, but Kahn, as Lili von Schtupp, shows she is not afraid of the challenge of smoking Cleavon’s schnitzengruben. **EDGE** - _BS_ Quoteability - “Whinney” “What knockers!” “Think of your secretary, sir.” “That’s Hedley.” “Ovaltine?” “He vas my BOYFRIEND!” “Up yours, ni\*\*er.” “We’ll whip up a number 8 on them.” “I was going to make expresso.” etc etc etc…There is no way to tell the two apart. **EDGE** - Draw So, breaking it down, I have to go with … _Young Frankenstein_ based on the outstanding supporting work of Marty Feldman. But it was the narrowest of gaps. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/115 "2009-11-18T23:04:44Z")
I voted Young Frankenstein… it wasn’r because of any girl-crush on Terri Garr, but simply because it was probably the funniest damned movie I have ever seen. Pure classic! Blazing Saddles is a close second for me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/116 "2009-11-18T23:12:42Z")
> [@Wargamer](#): > > Quoteability - “Whinney” “What knockers!” “Think of your secretary, sir.” “That’s Hedley.” “Ovaltine?” “He vas my BOYFRIEND!” “Up yours, ni\*\*er.” “We’ll whip up a number 8 on them.” “I was going to make expresso.” etc etc etc…There is no way to tell the two apart. **EDGE** - Draw I’m afraid that PUNNA DA RISSS edges out for Young Fronck-en-steen. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/117 "2009-11-19T01:32:28Z")
Anyone who did not vote for _The Producers_ is a fish-faced enemy of the people. Now lieb me alone. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/118 "2009-11-19T02:42:11Z")
> [@Wargamer](#): > > “We’ll whip up a number 8 on them.” Jesus, man! It’s a Number _6_! What the hell kind of pervert are you?! Sick, I tells ya. At any rate, I give **Blazing Saddles** the edge, and consider it my all-time favorite film. Granted, I haven’t watched **YF** nearly as many times. But I’d be tempted to put YF and **The Producers** in a close 2nd place tie. As I am similarly pigmented to **Skald** , I have gotten more use in my life out of the “Hey, where the white women at?” line than anyone should be comfortable admitting. _Should_ be, mind you. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/119 "2009-11-19T03:04:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Teri Garr is always a babe, but as a _nerdy_ babe? Mmm, yeah. She is a Trek Babe. We, as Trekkies, have long expressed our good wishes. I have friends with MS and understand their continued hotness. ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946/120 "2009-11-19T06:05:06Z")
**Young Frankenstein** has the most funny. **Blazing Saddles** and the original **Producers** tie for second & third. **Get Smart** (the series) had the second biggest magnet I’ve ever seen, but I guess it was more of a group effort. I’m pleased that another person on Earth remembers **When Things Were Rotten**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-mel-brooks-movie-and-why/516946.md?page=7)