Ken Bowden's blog

Mel Brooks reigned as the royal of parody for decades, but in 1993′s Robin Hood: Men In Tights the jokes feel forced, as Brooks tries too hard to generate laughs. This fancy looks like a classic, though, compared to Brooks’ works since. It’s hard to phrase to the letter what went retrogress after Spaceballs, but Brooks just never found his comedic footing after taking sci-fi films to reproach.

Things start on a dangerous note, when the presupposition of the story is spelled discernible to us via a rap bother. From there, we get a beautiful straightforward retelling of the Robin Hood fable, specifically mirroring the Kevin Costner box office smash, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Brooks’ variation even now involves Robin (Cary Elwes) and his border of Merry Men, including Will Scarlet O’Hara (Matthew Porretta) and Little John (Eric Allan Kramer), who bilk of from the in clover and give to the unacceptable. The criminal Prince John (Richard Lewis) kidnaps Maid Marian (Amy Yasbeck), who wears a chastity belt that can on the other hand be opened by her authentic love. To get to Prince John, Robin has to go through his clever oppose, the Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Rees). Along the way, we be met by Don Giovanni (Dom DeLuise), The Abbot (Dick Van Patten), Blinkin (Mark Blankfield), and the grotesque Latrine (Tracey Ullman).

Brooks takes his spoof of the Costner film beyond openly the names of the main characters. The Robin/Will Scarlett relationship was (unintentionally) funny enough in Prince of Thieves, but Brooks takes it to the next comedic true. Alan Rickman’s upwards-the-first performance from Costner’s view is nicely taken to strain scold by Roger Rees, but beyond those proper parodies, we get nothing but hazardous attempts at laughs in the form of cheap rare-gags. The most pointless rip on the Costner perfect comes in the form of a cameo by Patrick Stewart that is meant to emulate Sean Connery’s floor skedaddle a appeal to as Majesty Arthur. Unfortunately, this winds up being more distracting than even remotely funny.

Cary Elwes is fine as Robin, but peradventure the most appealing cast associate is Dave Chappelle, and his fans will want to catch an individual of his earliest film roles, playing one of Robin’s Frolic Men, Achoo. Unfortunately, these actors can’t hide that there are more groaners than moments of inspired laughs. The film muscle have felt a bit more fresh and original had Brooks chosen to depict his own parable in lieu of following the Costner conduit so closely. He could secure even taken a folio excuse of his own register, as Blazing Saddles was one of the more broad spoofs ever filmed, and we all know how outstanding that excellent is.