March 28, 2003

Surreal, yet bland.

I was on the edge of consciousness, somewhere between drooling and passed out, when I saw this film a couple of months ago. To this day, I’m not sure if it was caused by the film itself or the vicodin. I suspect that the film is to blame…

Silent Movie is a silent movie about producers trying to make a silent movie. (Rimshot) Physical comedy and visual puns are Brooks’ forte, but I don’t think it was wise of him to rely on those alone. I enjoy his wordplay and social commentary much more and both of those were missing from Silent Movie to a great degree.

The star cameos were impressive and made me laugh the most. The Burt Reynolds Orgy Shower Scene alone was worth watching the whole film. I had also forgotten that James Caan used to be hot. (BTW, why’s his son such a frickin’ midget?) Liza Minelli still grossed me out though.

Let’s see…Silent Movie is nowhere near as good as Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles. It doesn’t even rate above Robin Hood: Men in Tights. It’s still better than Dracula: Dead and Loving It or Life Stinks. Blech.

Year – 1976
Rating – PG
Runtime – 87 minutes
Genre – Mel Brooks
Director(s) – Mel Brooks
Writer(s) – Ron Clark, Mel Brooks, Rudy De Luca, Barry Levinson
Actor(s) – Mel Brooks, Marty Feldman, Dom DeLuise, Sid Caesar, Bernadette Peters
BOB Rating – Two BOBs
Favorite Quote – "No!" - Marcel Marceau