It's disappointing to revisit a movie you loved in your younger years only to discover the movie is almost intolerable now. It's even more disappointing when that movie comes from comedy legend Mel Brooks. The movie in question is, obviously, ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS. I seriously loved this movie as a teenager; one of my friends had it on VHS and we would watch it all the time. Since then, I'd always been on the lookout for a good DVD or Blu-ray copy so I could bring it into my collection and remind myself how awesome it was. When I bought the Mel Brooks collection, this was the movie I was most excited to own because I hadn't seen it in probably more than twenty years. Then I sat down and watched it and, man, I don't think I laughed once. Not once. Even my daughter, who'd gotten a kick out of SPACEBALLS, couldn't be bothered to pay attention. I can't say this is Mel Brooks' worst film because I there are still two or three I haven't seen, but I can say with utmost certainty it's the worst one I've encountered. It really kills me to acknowledge it; I haven't been this let down by a movie I used to love since MORTAL KOMBAT. But you know what? I'd rather re-watch MORTAL KOMBAT than MEN IN TIGHTS because at least it doesn't make me cringe. Did it not age well, or was it never good to begin with?
No sense in recapping the plot: it's the classic tale of Robin Hood as told through the lens of Mel Brooks. It features Cary Elwes, a young Dave Chappelle, and Richard Lewis with minor roles for Brooks (as Rabbi Tuckman), Tracey Ullman, and even Patrick Stewart. This should have been a sure-fire win and, for many years, I believed it to be one. But, man, this was a rough one to sit through now. It hits you right off the bat with exposition in the form of a Sherwood Forest rap that's just it's embarrassing to watch. From there we're taken to the Middle East where we're introduced to Robin of Loxley (Elwes) as he's tossed in a dungeon following his capture during the Crusades and we're given a taste of the style of humor we can expect: a dungeon maître d' named Falafel, a gag where Robin's tongue is stretched a foot out of his mouth while he goes cross-eyed, and Isaac Hayes making a "feat of strength"/"feet of strength" pun. None of it, and I mean none, was landing for me. It all came across as just incredibly dumb and at no point did it crawl its way out from that ditch. Recurring jokes, such as the Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Rees) and his stress-induced speech impediment, hit with a thud but keep coming back whether you found them amusing or not. I felt bad watching MEN IN TIGHTS. A movie shouldn't make me feel bad for not laughing.
I love Mel Brooks and I love his movies. He's had a few missteps but I can usually find enough about the movie to enjoy it to some extent. MEN IN TIGHTS tries its hardest to hide those positive notes under a pile of stale jokes, but they're there. Elwes doesn't actually cut it for me here. Sure, as he's proud to brag, he's "the only Robin Hood to speak with an English accent" but he's a freaking cartoon. He just mugs about for the entire movie. It's actually sort of annoying. Get your Elwes fix from THE PRINCESS BRIDE instead. Chappelle is great, even if he feels a little out of place in something so cheesy at times in the movie. His character is a man from Africa named "Ahchoo" so, you know, expect plenty of play from that gag. I also liked Mark Blankfield as Robin's loyal blind servant Blinkin. Sure there are plenty of easy gags to come from his blindness but he's adept at the physical comedy and it works. Let's see there was a fun meta-gag late in the film that breaks the fourth wall. That's a fun Brooks trope and makes from one of the few honest laughs in the movie. Other than that, there's barely anything here worth a mention. This wasn't written by Brooks usual team. Instead, he's got J.D. Shapiro, the man behind let's see
Oh
BATTLEFIELD EARTH and one episode of "Charles in Charge". Well I guess that explains a lot now.
No sense in recapping the plot: it's the classic tale of Robin Hood as told through the lens of Mel Brooks. It features Cary Elwes, a young Dave Chappelle, and Richard Lewis with minor roles for Brooks (as Rabbi Tuckman), Tracey Ullman, and even Patrick Stewart. This should have been a sure-fire win and, for many years, I believed it to be one. But, man, this was a rough one to sit through now. It hits you right off the bat with exposition in the form of a Sherwood Forest rap that's just it's embarrassing to watch. From there we're taken to the Middle East where we're introduced to Robin of Loxley (Elwes) as he's tossed in a dungeon following his capture during the Crusades and we're given a taste of the style of humor we can expect: a dungeon maître d' named Falafel, a gag where Robin's tongue is stretched a foot out of his mouth while he goes cross-eyed, and Isaac Hayes making a "feat of strength"/"feet of strength" pun. None of it, and I mean none, was landing for me. It all came across as just incredibly dumb and at no point did it crawl its way out from that ditch. Recurring jokes, such as the Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Rees) and his stress-induced speech impediment, hit with a thud but keep coming back whether you found them amusing or not. I felt bad watching MEN IN TIGHTS. A movie shouldn't make me feel bad for not laughing.
I love Mel Brooks and I love his movies. He's had a few missteps but I can usually find enough about the movie to enjoy it to some extent. MEN IN TIGHTS tries its hardest to hide those positive notes under a pile of stale jokes, but they're there. Elwes doesn't actually cut it for me here. Sure, as he's proud to brag, he's "the only Robin Hood to speak with an English accent" but he's a freaking cartoon. He just mugs about for the entire movie. It's actually sort of annoying. Get your Elwes fix from THE PRINCESS BRIDE instead. Chappelle is great, even if he feels a little out of place in something so cheesy at times in the movie. His character is a man from Africa named "Ahchoo" so, you know, expect plenty of play from that gag. I also liked Mark Blankfield as Robin's loyal blind servant Blinkin. Sure there are plenty of easy gags to come from his blindness but he's adept at the physical comedy and it works. Let's see there was a fun meta-gag late in the film that breaks the fourth wall. That's a fun Brooks trope and makes from one of the few honest laughs in the movie. Other than that, there's barely anything here worth a mention. This wasn't written by Brooks usual team. Instead, he's got J.D. Shapiro, the man behind let's see
Oh
BATTLEFIELD EARTH and one episode of "Charles in Charge". Well I guess that explains a lot now.