LogFAQs > #957536658

KBM: How the fuck do you fairly, equitably rank Blazing Saddles alongside a bunch of serious westerns, both classic and modern? Obviously you really can't. Mel Brooks' iconic send-up of Westerns is bound to be a controversial one among our little band of regulars, just as it was when it was released, although I'm certainly hoping more of y'all end up on the positive side than the negative one. And don't give me any of that you couldn't make Blazing Saddles today shit it's technically true, yes, but only because this was made to send up a very specific kind of film that doesn't get made any more (because, well, Blazing Saddles basically killed the genre for a couple decades, after which the whole concept of Westerns was reinvented). Nothing in this movie crosses any lines that aren't contextually appropriate to cross. But enough about this movie's place in the zeitgeist the main thing is, it's just really, really funny. And it's a hell of a lot funnier to me now, too, after having seen so many more of the old Westerns it's spoofing than I'd previously seen for this list. It really would take forever to list my favorite bits, as I'd basically just end up summarizing most of the movie. However, I will give a special shoutout to the chemistry between Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder in the leading roles Little cracking up when Wilder says You know... morons gets me every time I see it. The Count Basie cameo is also fantastically random, one of many gags in this movie that you'd likely only see from Mel Brooks.

(PS: I consider this part of the Holy Trinity of Brooks: The Producers and Young Frankenstein being the other two where his brand of wacky, zany humor is just *mwah* pitch perfect. Spaceballs gets an honorable mention, as not quite as many of the jokes in that one land, but it still has that unmistakable Brooksian energy and enough of the gags are great to cement it as a minor classic.)

Johnbobb: Some of this movie REALLY doesn't age well. Like, REALLY doesn't. But every fart joke, racist joke, and sexist joke is mostly made up for by Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little at their best. It's pretty easily the funniest movie on this list. All of this leads up to one of the best endings ever put to film.

Karo: So the governor appoints a black sheriff to this town of inbred racists and hilarity ensues.
This film is a work of brilliant satire that lampoons every stupid bigoted element and overused trope of old westerns in a dark comedy that is severely unstructured but still very funny.
Unfortunately, midway through it starts to fall off a little bit and we get scenes like the chorus of excessively flatulent cowboys. Did someone turn over the production reins to their five year old son?
The forces of good win the day in a ploy that involves building an entire replica of the town in a single day and beating the fourth wall savagely within an inch of its life.
It is dumb and proud of it, which is good because it is really really dumb. Whether that is a good or bad thing varies wildly throughout the movie but lets just say for now its better to be dumb than boring.

Inviso: A reviewer Ive watched once said that comedy is the fastest form of entertainment to age poorly, and from that perspective, yes, Blazing Saddles hasnt aged the best. However, Im willing to take into account the era in which it was made (immediately after the civil rights movement of the late 1960s), and realize that despite the copious amounts of racial slurs, theyre all in service of painting the majority-white cast as idiots, while Bart runs circles around them in a Bugs Bunny-esque fashion. In that regard, its somewhat amusing. And honestly, some of the jokes still land really well. When Bart takes himself hostage in order to avoid an angry mob, I laughed out loud. Plus, there are multiple instances of one character or another (I know Gene Wilder was one) going on a long soliloquy about the pride of people, only to completely undercut that flowery language by insisting that everything they just said is descriptive of idiots and rubes. Overall, I think Mel Brooks crafted a quality comedy, but its hard to hold up in modern times.

CoolCly: The way the black guys working on the railroad are treated as lesser does a great job at showing how casual racism can be, despite being played for comedy.
The executioner is great.

I didn't care for the musical number at all. I couldn't understand the actress half of the time.
A lot of fun, and I don't think the use of slurs and depictions of racism harm the film. They're always done to portray the bigots as ignorant and cruel, which I think is exactly the right way to combat racism.

Overall, very fun comedy that I enjoyed and I think is worth watching today

6.1/10

Poke: I love Mel Brooks films, and I was anticipating liking this one, but for some reason, I was underwhelmed. Some jokes landed, but only mild chuckles for the most part.
---

Bear Bro
The Empire of Silence