Quick Thoughts: Young Frakenstein

When people talk about the greatest movies of a certain genre, there is often a lot of debate, and as time marches onward, the status and reputation of films from an older generation changes. Hell take this year for example as a sudden shift in culture basically saw Gone With The Wind, one of the greatest films of all time, basically being banned from being broadcasted on television and via a streaming service! For me this raises some questions, as it relates to some comedies, and I kind of wish I had this in mind when talking about Blazing Saddles a few weeks ago, but it popped back into my head after another Mel Brooks comedy, Young Frankenstein, was apart of my weekly discord watch alongs.

In particular there is one scene where The Creature kidnaps and has its way with Elizabeth towards the end of the film, and while its done for a comedic element and a call back to a joke earlier in the film about how the Creature would have to be larger than a normal person to be brought to life, meaning it would have an "enormous schwanzstucker", it makes me wonder of if that scene at a some point is going to end up being edited out of future releases of the film. I know it's silly to think that, but it has crossed my mind. Of course as with any comedy there are probably numerous things in Young Frankenstein most folks would find questionable in terms of content, but obviously that one scene is the biggest one that comes to mind. 

That said, when one compares Young Frankenstein to the five Frankenstein films that came before it (which is referenced within the movie), it certainly comes across as a movie that fits within the same universe. The props, music and general tone easily match that of the earlier films, which was intentional from the outset as it was made it the same style, using as much of the original props and set reconstructions that could be made. Gene Wilder gives a incredible performance and carries the film from star to finish, with Marty Feldman getting quite a number of great one liners. What is funny to me is some of the reviews that exist about the film, one of which criticizing that the plot wasn't original.... I'm guessing some people don't know what the word parody means, as it's supposed to make light of something already existing and lifting heavily from the source material is expected, it's why most of Mel Brooks' films and things like Airplane and the Naked Gun are fondly because of they capture the spirit of what they are needling.