LogFAQs > #972551645

2. Young Frankenstein (1974)
Directed by Mel Brooks
Score: 78

Suprak: 1
GavsEvans: 2
Tangy: 2
Mythiot: 5
John: 6
Vis: 8
Plasma: 9
Poke: 9
Forty: 11
Karo: 25

2. Gavs
I was all set to make a Dr Doofenshmirtz two nickels reference here, but this isnt a Frankenstein movie, its a Fronkenshteen movie. Totally different thing!

I can describe this film as being hazardous to my health. I was sick when I watched it, which caused me to suffer long and painful coughing fits whenever I laughed for longer than a moment. After this happened twice in the opening scene, I had to try and watch the rest without laughing. Easier said than done!

Like the original Dr Frankenstein, Frederick is driven to madness by his work, although here that madness manifests differently. Frederick is prone to violent mood swings, and even at the best of times, theres a barely restrained rage bubbling under. His attempts to control his temper are funny already, so its even funnier when he inevitably loses it.

Despite being a parody of the Frankenstein story, this film does have a bit of tragedy of its own, in the spirit of the source material. Frederick doesnt want to follow in his grandfathers footsteps, but some light nudging from Frau Blucher (NEIGH!) piques his curiosity. Likewise, the creature is reformed, but this ends all too soon through no fault of his own. Both creator and creation are forced to become what others see them as against their will.

The most important thing here is that this film is very funny indeed. There are humorous twists on scenes from the source material, such as the little girl being catapulted away, or the blind man inconveniencing the creature. There are lots of memorable characters, each with their own comedic quirks, such as Igor with his moving hump, Kents thick accent and wooden arm, and Frau Blucher (NEIGH!) having a thing for her former employer. Of course, theres also the big set-piece dance that I would be remiss not to mention as the funniest part of the film, and of the list so far. It will take some doing to top this!

2. Tangy
Between the critical acclaim of Blazing Saddles and the casual appeal of Spaceballs, Young Frankenstein often gets sidelined in terms of Mel Brooks movies. However I think I like it a great deal more than both of them. The main appeal of Young Frankenstein is Brooks attention to detail. He couldve made this just a straight up sequel to Frankenstein and I have no doubt it would be great, which makes the comedy work so much better. The way it alternates between telling a serious story and throwing absurd jokes at you is such a unique form of comedy that I dont think any other movie on this list does as well. So massive props on originality there. Then of course theres the master of acting himself, Gene Wilder, whos great in literally everything.

Biggest Laugh: Goodnight Frau Blucher *Neigh!*

5. Mythiot
A gleefully silly love letter to Universal Classic Horror starring Gene Wilder as the original Dr. Frankensteins embarrassed grandson who insists on going by Fronk-un-steen, until hes seduced by the secrets hidden within the impressively crafted set pieces of his family estate in Transylvania that he recreates his grandfathers mad experiments with hilarious results. As great as Gene Wilder is here, the supporting cast, particularly Marty Feldman as Eye-gor and Peter Boyle as Fronkunsteens monster really steal the show.

6. John
I absolutely love Gene Wilder. Blazing Saddles landed near the top of my Western list, primarily for Wilder's performance. The original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory has always been one of my favorite movies, and again, it's almost entirely because of Gene Wilder. All it comes down to is that he's just a hilarious personality that commands every scene he's in. Mel Brooks' humor has always itself been kind of hit or miss for me, and that continues here, with scenes like Puttin' on the Ritz and the spinning bookshelf cracking me up, while stuff like the blind man (and really most scenes not involving Wilder) didn't click as much. Still, it's consistently an enjoyable watch.

8. Vis
Now THIS is what Im talking about. We hit the 70s and we start to get more into my style of humor. Young Frankenstein was just funny from beginning to end, taking the classic story of Frankensteins monster and basically maintaining the same beats, but with a turn towards the comedic instead of towards the ghastly and gruesome. Gene Wilder is a treasure as always, playing an exasperated and neurotic Dr. Frankenstein (grandson of THE Dr. Frankenstein), but even better is Peter Boyle, who largely spends the film conveying emotion purely through facial expressions. Throw in a cavalcade of wacky extra characters, and you wind up with an extremely enjoyable film overall.

9. Plasma
Enjoyed the hell out of this one. Though the movie was never laugh-out-loud funny, I was amused the entire time by Dr. Frahn-ken-steen and his quirky crew. Bonus points for going black-and-whiteit added just the right touch of old-school horror atmosphere. B-

11. Forty
Give my creation liiiiiife! Few things are more entertaining to me than watching Gene Wilders manic performances. Even when hes saying things that arent inherently funny, the way he transitions from calm to raving lunacy and back again is always super funny. Theres no one like him and hes perfectly suited to the role of the half mad Dr. FRAH-KEN-STEIN. Some of Mel Brooks humor misses the mark for me (the constable with the arm for one), but he does a great job of paying homage to the old classic monster movies while adding his trademark silliness. Puttin on the Ritz is one of the most iconic moments in comedy history and its easily one of the best and most influential examples of horror comedy.

25. Karo
Dr. Frankenstein's grandson heads to Transylvania in order to follow in his predecessor's footsteps and do unsafe things with electrical current.
What follows is a plodding and unmemorable slog that is rarely funny. Corny old monster movies should be a ripe target for satire, but instead of really subverting anything they just play it mostly straight with a few dirty jokes and some random weirdness.
I didn't care about any of the characters, the story is one I've seen before, and just... why does this exist?
Mel Brooks should have gathered a bit more power before throwing the switch on this movie, because this is definitely not alive.