Young Frankenstein
Composite Score: 84.67
Starring: Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn, and Gene Hackman
Director: Mel Brooks
Writers: Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks
Genres: Comedy, Horror, Parody
MPAA Rating: PG
Box Office: $86.27 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Young Frankenstein is the comedy horror parody from Mel Brooks of the 1930s Universal Monster Movies. It follows Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Frawnkensteen by pronunciation), the grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, who moves to his family’s estate in Transylvania upon invitation and works to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people said by attempting to replicate his work. The film stars Gene Wilder in the titular protagonist role alongside Marty Feldman as Igor, Madeline Kahn as Fred’s fiancée Elizabeth, Teri Garr as his sensual lab assistant Inga, Peter Boyle as the Monster, and Cloris Leachman as the sinister housekeeper Frau Blücher. The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best Adapted Screenplay and has been heralded as one of Brooks’s best films, walking the fine line between Scary Movie and The Cabin in the Woods excellently, delivering the classic camp of the original monster flicks as well as his own brand of raunchy humor and a story that’s just original enough to offer new insights to the source material.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Mel Brooks brings a specific brand of humor and parody to all of his films that may or may not be for you. If it’s your cup of tea (see Spaceballs, Blazing Saddles, or the original The Producers if in doubt), then there’s really no reason not to watch Young Frankenstein. However, for those of you not as amused by tongue-in-cheek references to past media, puns and double entendre, and borderline manic episodes from leading characters, this film might be a skip. The “new” modern-ish take on Frankenstein only goes so far in tweaking the story of the original novel and films, and while its production design is fantastic, and the script moves at a fairly high clip, I don’t know that it does enough to warrant watching if you don’t like its comedy.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
While not the first to create a parody film, Mel Brooks certainly popularized the practice and brought it critical success in the process with his double feature of Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles in 1974. With Young Frankenstein in particular, he manages to craft a film that pays homage to the classics and displays his own brand of humor in the process, which would be completely out of place in the classic Universal films, but which works here. Though they are more horror in the classical sense (monsters, mad scientists, and small Eastern European towns), the camp and iconography of the classic horror films remains prevalent throughout the history of horror, and Brooks does a good job of bringing this to his parody, utilizing sets, costumes, black and white film, and music that evoke the original (even using the original Frankenstein lab equipment from the 1931 film). At the same time, his humor feels entirely of its own era, offering plenty of raunchy (and sometimes subtle) puns and jokes for the audience to catch and experience to breathe a different sort of life into the classic films. In an era of slashers and psychological thrillers, Brooks managed to make a monster flick that feels equal parts original and homage with plenty of critical and audience praise to top it all off.
Mel Brooks’s blend of homage and comedy make Young Frankenstein a masterful parody that captures the wonder and technical achievements of the classic films while also introducing a basic level of comedy that elevates the whole thing to a place of greatness alongside the films it seeks to mimic. Brooks’s personal brand of comedy won’t necessarily be everyone’s cup of tea, limiting the film’s value to some viewers, but for those who prefer his humor, this is a must-watch classic. It is currently available to stream via Max for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet and for anyone looking to do a rewatch in the near future.
