Review of Blazing Saddles (1974) by Jesse O — 14 Jun 2013

Perhaps it's because Young Frankenstein remains one of my favorite comedies of all time, but this sort of seems like a step below that high standard, even if this movie came out a little less than a year before Young Frankenstein.

Anyway, setting all that aside, this film is still absolutely tremendous with its raunchy humor and a manic, yet silly, energy about that makes this film an absolute blast. The film could certainly be seen as controversial due to its racial humor, but it is used to illustrate a point about the western genre and it's racism, so in that way the film is far more thoughtful than its humor would imply.

This isn't unlike Mel Brooks' other spoof films, it's silly, it's over the top, features a large cast of incredibly talented comedians, with Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn and Dom Deluise's cameo being highlights in a film that's hilarious from beginning to end.

Perhaps another reason I liked Young Frankenstein more was because of Gene Wilder's genius comedic performance in that movie and in this movie there isn't that individual performance that would take it to the next level, it's the work of the entire cast.

And don't get me wrong, Young Frankenstein is the work of the cast as well, but there's that little extra oomph when you have Gene Wilder going batshit as well. This film doesn't have that, though, again, this film is still pretty amazing and hilarious without that aspect.

The film is really all over the place and while the climax of the film breaks the fourth wall in a pretty gigantic manner, it somehow fits with the insanity of the film. And, in hindsight, it actually makes the film even funnier than it was after the "twist".

So yea I loved this movie, this might be a shitty review, and it really is, but I had tears flowing down my face because that's how funny the movie was. Comedy gold right here.