Blazing Saddles (1974): It was funny...
When I was twelve.
Blazing Saddles was quite possibly original for its time, I'll give it that. It was definitely vulgar for its time, especially with the many uses of the N-word, practically said twice every ten minutes or so. And it was quite possibly funny for its time as well. But it is not any longer.
When I first watched Blazing Saddles, I was sorely disappointed. I had heard many good things about the film, and was just bummed with the final outcome. So, I don't know what I expected to change when I watched it the second time. Same thing, just now I understand more of the jokes.
I'm a fan of Mel Brooks. Always have been. I know Jason's the same too. The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, yadda yadda yadda; the list goes on. Those were some of Brooks good films and Blazing Saddles just didn't live up.
I guess I should actually start my review now.
I'm not fond of the script. I take no offense to hearing racial slanders. But there were just too many in this film, and I felt it dragged it down. Sure, there may have been a wonderful, kick ass team behind the script (such as Richard Pryor, the great comedian) but I think there may have been too many screenwriters working on this project which drew them away from a good movie.
It is a shame that Pryor was not able to take up the role of Sheriff Bart, who many of the N-words are directed at. Now, I feel Cleavon Little did a nice little job (sorry, bad pun) as Bart. But Gene Wilder playing the Waco Kid definitely took lead in the duo.
I was also disappointed with Brooks' two characters in the film, both of which seemed to lack the normal flair he plays his other wacky parts with. The Governor did make me laugh. A chuckle here and there. I'm also not surprised that Madeline Kahn was in this film, but honestly I felt her character was utterly pointless.
The only character besides Sheriff Bart and the Waco Kid I liked was definitely Hedley Lamarr, played wonderfully by Harvey Korman. Without a doubt, Korman is Lamarr. He acted better than the whole town of Rock Ridge combined. If you're wondering about Wilder's performance: he would have decimated the town of Rock Ridge with his awesomeness.
Which brings me to the conclusion. The ending of the film. The whole film leads up to this, the grand finale, the fight between the whole town of Rock Ridge with Lamarr and his minions. Let's just say it was over-the-top and completely unnecessary. It becomes sour, unnecessary. I don't know if the giant team of screenwriters clashed on how to end the film, or if they just decided to pull something out of their asses that was so strange that they just hoped it worked. Well, whatever the choice was, I didn't like it. It just didn't fit in with the rest of the film.
Like I said earlier, this isn't Brooks' greatest work. Maybe if you like Westerns, you might like it, but I doubt it.
Blazing Saddles was quite possibly original for its time, I'll give it that. It was definitely vulgar for its time, especially with the many uses of the N-word, practically said twice every ten minutes or so. And it was quite possibly funny for its time as well. But it is not any longer.
When I first watched Blazing Saddles, I was sorely disappointed. I had heard many good things about the film, and was just bummed with the final outcome. So, I don't know what I expected to change when I watched it the second time. Same thing, just now I understand more of the jokes.
I'm a fan of Mel Brooks. Always have been. I know Jason's the same too. The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, yadda yadda yadda; the list goes on. Those were some of Brooks good films and Blazing Saddles just didn't live up.
I guess I should actually start my review now.
I'm not fond of the script. I take no offense to hearing racial slanders. But there were just too many in this film, and I felt it dragged it down. Sure, there may have been a wonderful, kick ass team behind the script (such as Richard Pryor, the great comedian) but I think there may have been too many screenwriters working on this project which drew them away from a good movie.
It is a shame that Pryor was not able to take up the role of Sheriff Bart, who many of the N-words are directed at. Now, I feel Cleavon Little did a nice little job (sorry, bad pun) as Bart. But Gene Wilder playing the Waco Kid definitely took lead in the duo.
I was also disappointed with Brooks' two characters in the film, both of which seemed to lack the normal flair he plays his other wacky parts with. The Governor did make me laugh. A chuckle here and there. I'm also not surprised that Madeline Kahn was in this film, but honestly I felt her character was utterly pointless.
The only character besides Sheriff Bart and the Waco Kid I liked was definitely Hedley Lamarr, played wonderfully by Harvey Korman. Without a doubt, Korman is Lamarr. He acted better than the whole town of Rock Ridge combined. If you're wondering about Wilder's performance: he would have decimated the town of Rock Ridge with his awesomeness.
Which brings me to the conclusion. The ending of the film. The whole film leads up to this, the grand finale, the fight between the whole town of Rock Ridge with Lamarr and his minions. Let's just say it was over-the-top and completely unnecessary. It becomes sour, unnecessary. I don't know if the giant team of screenwriters clashed on how to end the film, or if they just decided to pull something out of their asses that was so strange that they just hoped it worked. Well, whatever the choice was, I didn't like it. It just didn't fit in with the rest of the film.
Like I said earlier, this isn't Brooks' greatest work. Maybe if you like Westerns, you might like it, but I doubt it.
The Final Call:
6/10
6/10
Labels: Blazing Saddles, Review
Comments