Year 18, Day 206 - 7/25/26 - Movie #5,384 - SQC DOC BLOCK FILM #23
BEFORE: All right, this one's going to take some time - and I worked late last night at the theater, so if this Saturday film posts on Sunday, don't be too surprised. This is a documentary in two parts, each is a little under two hours long, so I've got nearly FOUR hours of doc about Mel Brooks to get through tonight. Hey, the man is old and he's been around for a while, making movies and TV shows. He just had another birthday at the end of June, when he turned 100, so already the title of his documentary is wrong, or at least outdated. That's the chance you take.
I spoke about the coincidence of me getting back on pop culture docs right around the time of San Diego Comic-Con, it's like my chain-making brain has muscle memory or something - well, how about this for a coincidence, they had a "Spaceballs 2" panel in Hall H at Comic-Con, and do you want to guess when that happened? OK, so it was Friday, but the NEWS broke today, that's still an amazing turn of events. Strange to say, but this only happened because footage of Paul Reubens was cut from "Overnight", if that hadn't happened then tonight's film was scheduled to be Doc Block film #30, which means I would have been off by a week. The strangest thing brought my schedule back in sync with reality, which feels a bit weird. Anyway tomorrow is the last day of SDCC, and I think I've got something appropriate, about film and art, before I go back to rock music and politics.
Judd Apatow AND Sarah Silverman carry over from "Mister Rogers: It's You I Like", and that's no help in picking a U.S. state to profile tonight - Silverman is from New Hampshire and Apatow, like Mel Brooks, was born in NYC. I've covered both of those states already, so I'm stuck. What I did was let Google decide tonight - I did a search with his name and the name of each still-unassigned state, and I only got one usable result, so there you go. What popped up was the site of the Candlelight Theatre in Wilmington, DELAWARE, which earlier this year put on stage productions of both "The Producers" and "Young Frankenstein". Now, I'm not sure if these are the authorized touring productions of both shows, or just a local theater group putting on a show, it doesn't really matter. What counts is that there have recently been Mel Brooks shows in that state, and apparently nobody else - and that LIVE theater is alive and well in DELAWARE. So here we go:
Date admitted to the U.S.: December 7, 1787 (1st state)
Claim to fame: The Delaware Water Gap, and Joe Biden's from there. That's about it, I think.
Nickname: The First State (and they just shove that in your face every chance they get, don't they?)
State Motto: "Liberty and Independence", also "Firsties"
State Flower: Peach blossom (really? that sounds a bit Southern)
State Fish: Weakfish (wait, what?)
State Bird: Delaware blue hen
State Insect: 7-spotted ladybug
State Tree: American holly
State Cocktail: Orange crush
State Food: peach custard pie (what's with all the peach stuff?)
Notable Sports Teams: You must be joking.
Fun Facts: Wow, I did not know that Delaware had a secret racist history (not kidding, for once). Attempts to abolish slavery in Delaware in 1847 failed by narrow margins, and just before the Civil War southern states sent commissioners to try to get Delaware to secede, and then during the war Delaware's state government was dominated by pro-slavery Democrats, and I didn't even know that was a thing. The state rejected the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments (umm, that's kind of a big deal) and didn't ratify them until 1901. WTF, Delaware? And then in 1954 the state was home to PRO-segregation boycotts - that's right, when people in the south were holding boycotts AGAINST segregation, Delaware was doing the opposite. Jeez, read the damn room, would you?
Yes, I have been to Delaware, so my record goes up to 19 states visited out of 23, but now I'm thinking about boycotting the state in the future - let's see how THEY like it. That's right, we're going to drive straight through on our next trip to North Carolina and we will NOT be stopping at any rest areas or restaurants in Delaware. It's time to take a stand.
FOLLOW-UP TO: "Mel Brooks: Unwrapped" (Movie #4,201)
THE PLOT: Follows the life, career, friendships and loves of legendary writer, director, producer and performer Mel Brooks, chronicling his early experiences and rise to superstardom.
AFTER: So far, it feels like this Doc Block has been brought to you by "Artist Brain", it's the condition that successful people in the entertainment industry have that makes them think that their shit don't stink. Spielberg had Artist Brain young, when he office-squatted his way into a job at Universal and then made the biggest blockbuster in film history (up until that time) and the guy who ran "Earth, Wind & Fire" had a convenient case of Artist Brain when he decided that he wanted a solo career and was also tired of paying all the other guys in the band. The whole Devo band had Artist Brain when they thought they were better than any punk band and also were, at one point, the only band with a backlog music videos made before MTV was invented. Paul Anka? He might have the biggest case I've ever seen, once you're the guy who wrote "My Way" for Sinatra, that head just does not return to normal size, not ever. Both Cheech AND Chong had different strains of Artist Brain, and you can't have a lasting duo when the two people can't agree who is in charge. (It's too bad, really, they could have just taken turns, for chrissake.)
The one person profiled so far this year who seems immune is, of course, Fred Rogers. He didn't set out to make the longest-running PBS show for kids, he wasn't in it for the money or because he believed he "belonged" on TV, his interest was always the mental health of America's kids, making sure they could cope mentally with tough things like divorce and pets dying and feeling angry. He also taught kids that diversity and equality and acceptance are pretty cool things, and that wearing sweaters and feeding fish and pretending are not just activities for shut-ins. Mr. Rogers, you are hereby declared "Artist Brain Free", sorry for the delay, I guess it hardly matters now.
So we have to now consider Mel Brooks - Artist Brain or Not Artist Brain? It's going to take a few hours (4, almost) to get to the bottom of this. First, we have the humble beginnings, being born into a Brooklyn Jewish tenement family, learning comedy as a way of survival, then serving in World War II because that was what you did back then. Sure, he found his way into the traveling entertainment unit when the fighting ended, but really, isn't that where he belonged? When he got back from the war he worked in TV production to avoid a job in the Garment District. Mostly this is NOT Artist Brain behavior, except for considering the menial labor job to be somehow beneath him, and having delusions of grandeur. We need to investigate this further.
After years working in TV on "Your Show of Shows" and feeling inadequate, Brooks got married and had three kids, but the marriage unfortunately did not last. Still inconclusive, but he really wanted to write a movie, and would have written one with Sid Caesar if the network hadn't offered so much money to keep Caesar on TV. He also had worked his way up from being a drummer and a back-up performer in the Catskills. Still, by the late 1950's he felt that he was destined for something greater, and that led to his "2,000 Year Old Man" routine and comedy album with Carl Reiner. Having aspirations is an early warning sign of Artist Brain, perhaps.
In the early 1960's, he wrote an animated short film that won an Oscar, and started working on "Get Smart", a TV spoof of spy films, and that turned out to be a hit, so Brooks turned his attention to writing his first feature film. This is a time in his career where it still felt a bit like he was trying a lot of different things, attempting to figure out what works and what doesn't work, what's going to attract and engage with the audience. That first feature was, of course, "The Producers" and it did win him another Oscar, for Best Original Screenplay. But it wasn't an instant hit with audiences, really it became a cult classic over time - still, I can kind of feel the old Artist Brain kicking in, because two Oscars can do that to a filmmaker... His next film was "The Twelve Chairs", which was a box-office flop. Yeah, thinking that you can turn American audiences on to Russian literature is a tell-tale sign of Artist Brain - I wouldn't say that it was a full case yet, because a box-office disaster is usually pretty humbling.
The first part of this two-part documentary ends with the success of "Blazing Saddles", and while it wasn't exactly the mid-point of his career, I think it's an appropriate place to stop for a moment because a giant successful film, one that breaks all the rules and pokes fun at society's racism and sexism and corrupt politicians, sure, that's a wonderful thing. But I'm guessing that's also where Brook's Artist Brain affliction really kicked in. And then it got worse with the success of "Young Frankenstein" and I think when you look at the following films, "Silent Movie" and "High Anxiety", you start to get the feeling that Brooks thought he could do no wrong, he'd cracked the code of comedy and all he had to do was throw together another spoof film and his winning streak would continue. But any athlete can tell you that a winning streak can't go on forever, eventually your team is going to lose a game and you have to be ready to deal with that, too, you literally can't win 'em all, you have to take the bad with the good, and also there is no "I" in "TEAM".
His production company decided to diversify, hiring David Lynch to direct "The Elephant Man" and then David Cronenberg to direct "The Fly". It's a very good sign that Brooks was willing to produce some films and not direct everything himself, perhaps the curative powers of a few more films that didn't gain any traction staved off his Artist Brain for a few years. A typical film director with Artist Brain would want to direct everything himself, and not allow anyone to share billing, while Brooks actually removed his name from the credits of "The Elephant Man" because people expected a certain kind of film from Mel Brooks, and it just wasn't that kind of film. But Brooks was also planning the next wave of spoof films, which led to "History of the World, Part I", "To Be or Not to Be" and eventually, "Spaceballs". This kept his film career thriving for a while, but I think if you were a "Star Wars" fan and you went to see "Spaceballs", you probably felt like you were really slumming. I mean, sure the franchise was ripe for parody, but it all seemed pretty low-rent, like below the level of a MAD magazine parody, even.
By the time Brooks got to "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" and "Dracula: Dead and Loving It", I think we can all agree the quality level was way, way down, exemplifying a severe case of Artist Brain, and I think from there recovery was very, very unlikely. The "Robin Hood" film re-used a bunch of gags from previous Brooks movies even, so, like, was he even trying? Sure, it's another genre of film that needed the piss taken out of it, but by then his films were way too silly for me, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who felt that way. In some ways it was more of a take on "The Princess Bride" than a Robin Hood movie. Brooksfilms was pretty much "Dead and NOT Loving It" at that point, and it took a few years, but that's when Broadway started adapting his films into stage musicals. Sure, why not, it's not like he was planning any new breakthrough comedy films. And that Artist Brain was whispering in his ear, if only his play could win a Tony or 12, then he'd also be not just an Oscar winner, but an EGOT winner.
Look, I'm not saying that "The Producers" wasn't a great stage musical, it was great, and I did see it on stage. The movie remake with the original Broadway cast was great, too, I liked it just as much as the original film. But believing that your past work needs to be remade, or transferred into another medium, and then re-cast, re-packaged, re-filmed and re-sold every few years is a DEFINITE sign of advanced Artist Brain. Some people make movies, and they let them get old and they just leave them alone, maybe re-watch them once in a while. Brooks has re-vamped, re-worked and re-produced his biggest successes as much as George Lucas has re-issued "Star Wars" over and over again in new mediums. And I thought maybe Lucas had the biggest case of Artist Brain of anyone, now I think Mel Brooks found ways to surpass even him over the course of his career.
Another sure sign of Artist Brain is refusing to retire, and as yet Brooks has still not retired, not at the age of 100, because he licensed "History of the World Part II" as a Hulu series, and now they've got "Spaceballs 2" close to a theatrical release. I did watch the "History Part II" series, it was OK, I wasn't super thrilled by it - and I'm not expecting "Spaceballs 2" to be terrific, though I probably will watch it sooner rather than later. I'm curious about it, but mainly I want to see what they do with it, there have been like nine more "Star Wars" movies since the first "Spaceballs" movie came out. So I know Mel's never, ever going to retire, I just wish he'd take life a little easier, he's certainly earned it. Look, Mel, people can go back and watch "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein" any time they want, those two films are practically annually viewed in my house, just leave them alone. They don't need to be re-made or turned into 3-D films or made into Hulu series, just let them be.
Directed by Judd Apatow (producer of "Flipside" and "Pee-Wee as Himself") & Michael Bonfiglio (director of "George Carlin's American Dream")
Also starring Mel Brooks (last seen in "Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution"), Scott Alexander, Andrew Bergman, Matthew Broderick (last seen in "Lorne"), Dave Chappelle (ditto), Rob Reiner (ditto), Adam Sandler (ditto), Eddie Brooks, Max Brooks, Nicholas Brooks, Samantha Brooks, Stefanie Brooks, Ronny Chieng (last heard in "Kung Fu Panda 4"), Ron Clark (last seen in "The Last Laugh" (2019)), David Denby, Cary Elwes (last seen in "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning"), Peter Farrelly (last seen in "Clear History"), Josh Gad (last heard in "Zootopia 2"), Dana Gould (last seen in "Fathers' Day"), Jimmy Kimmel (last seen in "When We Went MAD!"), Conan O'Brien (ditto), Jerry Seinfeld (ditto), Nick Kroll (last seen in "Don't Worry Darling"), Larry Karazewski, Nathan Lane (last seen in "No Pay, Nudity"), Barry Levinson (last seen in "Here Today"), David Lynch (last seen in "The Fabelmans"), Kliph Nesteroff, Patton Oswalt (last seen in "Blake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames"), Bill Pullman (last seen in "Dark Waters"), Amy Schumer (last heard in "IF"), Ben Stiller (last seen in "Adam Sandler: Funny Guy"), Susan Stroman, Robert Townsend (last seen in "Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only"), Tracey Ullman (last seen in "I Could Never Be Your Woman"), David Zucker (also last seen in "When We Went MAD!"), Jerry Zucker, Daphne Zuniga (last seen in "Vision Quest")
with archive footage of Don Adams (also last seen in "When We Went MAD!"), Charlie Chaplin (ditto), Steve Allen (last seen in "Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind"), Kirstie Alley (last seen in "Drop Dead Gorgeous"), Don Appell, Bea Arthur (last seen in "A Disturbance in the Force"), Kenny Baker (last seen in "An Accidental Studio"), Anne Bancroft (last seen in "Famous Nathan"), Sid Caesar (ditto), Ike Barinholtz (last seen in "Blockers"), Florence Baum, David Begelman, Tony Bilbow, Mark Blankfield (last seen in "The Incredible Shrinking Woman"), Peter Boyle (last seen in "Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print"), Gene Shalit (ditto), Dr. Joyce Brothers (last seen in "Tiny Tim: King for a Day"), James Caan (last seen in "Cheech & Chong's Last Movie"), Johnny Carson (ditto), Dan Castellaneta (ditto), Merv Griffin (ditto), Dustin Hoffman (ditto), Dinah Shore (ditto), Tom Snyder (ditto), John Candy (also last seen in "Lorne"), Ron Carey (last seen in "The Out of Towners (1970)), Dick Cavett (last seen in "Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story"), Francis Ford Coppola (ditto), Colin Clive, Imogene Coca, Myron Cohen, Stuart Cornfeld, Howard Cosell (last seen in "September 5"), Billy Crystal (last seen in "Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary"), Larry David (last seen in "The Strange Name Movie"), Geena Davis (last seen in "Blink Twice"), Dom Deluise (also last seen in "Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution"), Carl Reiner (ditto), Mike Douglas (last seen in "Devo"), Charlie Rose (ditto), Hugh Downs (last seen in "Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything"), Fritz Feld (last seen in "The Ladies Man"), Marty Feldman (last seen in "Remembering Gene Wilder"), Teri Garr (ditto), Burton Gilliam (ditto), Madeline Kahn (ditto), Cloris Leachman (ditto), Cleavon Little (ditto), Ben Mankiewicz (ditto), Zero Mostel (ditto), Barbara Feldon (last seen in "Fitzwilly"), Jeff Garlin (last seen in "Daddy Day Care"), Larry Gelbart, Jeff Goldblum (also last seen in "Lorne"), Buck Henry (ditto), Harold Gould (last seen in "Freaky Friday" (2003)), Shecky Greene (last seen in "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project"), Gene Hackman (last seen in "The Package"), Christopher Hewett (last seen in "The Lavender Hill Mob"), John Hillerman (last seen in "I Am Burt Reynolds"), Gregory Hines (last seen in "Music by John Williams"), Peter O'Toole (ditto), Adolf Hitler (last seen in "Lee"), Anthony Hopkins (last seen in "Playdate"), David Huddleston (last seen in "Something. to Talk About"), John Hurt (last seen in "Hercules"), Kitty Kaminsky, Boris Karloff (last seen in "The Munsters"), Alex Karras (last seen in "Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic"), Buster Keaton (last seen in "The Real Charlie Chaplin"), Larry King (last seen in "Pamela: A Love Story"), Harvey Korman (last seen in "Paul Anka: His Way"), Eric Allen Kramer, Jessica Lange (last seen in "Bob Fosse: It's Showtime!"), Frank Langella (last seen in "Sigourney Weaver, the Most Iconic Action Heroine"), Rick Moranis (ditto), Norman Lear (last seen in "Sr."), Jerry Lewis (last seen in "Being Eddie"), Liza Minnelli (ditto), Paul Newman (ditto), Barack Obama (ditto), Richard Pryor (ditto), Don Rickles (ditto), Frank Sinatra (ditto), Gene Wilder (ditto), Richard Lewis (last seen in "Once Upon a Crime..."), Max Liebman, Leonard Maltin (also last seen in "Blake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames"), Lesley Ann Warren (ditto), Marcel Marceau, Kenneth Mars (last seen in "Citizen Ruth"), Penny Marshall (also last seen in "Lorne"), Steve Martin (ditto), John Mulaney (ditto), Groucho Marx (also last seen in "When We Went MAD"), Harpo Marx (ditto), Ed McMahon (last seen in "Valerie"), Thomas Meehan, Don Meredith, Lee Meredith, Ron Moody, Kumail Nanjiani (last seen in "Life as We Know It"), Mike Ockrent, Slim Pickens (last seen in "Filmworker"), Edward Platt (last seen in "My Mom Jayne"), Matthew Porretta, Maury Povich, Burt Reynolds (last seen in "Chris & Martina: The Final Set"), Jack Riley (last seen in "McCabe & Mrs. Miller"), The Ritz Brothers, Tim Russ (last seen in "The Midnight Sky"), Soupy Sales (last seen in "Groucho & Cavett"), George Segal (last seen in "Being Mary Tyler Moore"), Dick Van Dyke (ditto), Neil Simon, David Steinberg (last seen in "The End"), Pamela Stephenson (last seen in "Superman III"), Jerry Stiller (last seen in "Serving Sara"), David Susskind, Wanda Sykes (last seen in "Bad Moms"), Stephen Tobolowsky (last seen in "Freakier Friday"), Dick Van Patten (also last seen in "Valerie"), Mike Wallace (last seen in "Rather"), Steven Weber (last seen in "Handsome: A Netflix Mystery Movie"), James Whale, Estelle Winwood (last seen in "Camelot"), George Wyner (last seen in "Not Another Teen Movie"), Amy Yasbeck (last seen in "Gilbert"), Gig Young (last seen in "Call Me Kate"),
and the voice of Orson Welles (also last seen in "Cheech & Chong's Last Movie")
RATING: 7 out of 10 Grammy nominations
No comments:
Post a Comment