Mel Brooks Destroyed America

[valerief]

Mel Brooks Destroyed America

Oh, so you had a ball when you went to NYC and saw "The Producers" on Broadway and sang "Heil Myself" for days. Or you're a Boomer and remember how you got high before seeing "Blazing Saddles" and it was the best day in your life. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Brooks is a comedic genius. I'll give you that. And I could probably watch "High Anxiety" on a loop for three days straight and never get bored. But Mel Brooks still destroyed America.

If you've never seen either version of "The Producers," I warn you that spoilers are ahead. (On the other hand, if you've never seen either version, what the hell is wrong with you?) Anyway, for those who've seen "The Producers," we know that Bialystock and Bloom scheme to get rich by bilking oodles of old women out of their savings and offering them a major percentage of ownership in the producers' next Broadway show. But how do you pay out 5,000% (or whatever it was) of the show's profit when there can only be 100% profit? You don't.

Bialystock and Bloom decided they wouldn't pay out. They'd keep all the investment cash less operating expenses and when the show flopped, they'd write it off as a loss. Investors don't expect to make money on a loss. But the producers did!

All of the evil people who destroyed America must have seen one or both versions of Brooks' "The Producers." Their plan was to create a flop (they did) and run away with the money (they did). And we're all those little old ladies, who don't even get a quickie from Bialystock as a courtesy. We get nada, zilch, nuttin' honey.

The 1968 version of "The Producers" had Bialystock and Bloom get caught and end in prison. Who do you think will end up our prisons after the last cent is squeezed from the Treasury? Not the thieves. Probably us for vagrancy and stealing bread. And when global warming has sucked up all the water and eroded our soil and we can't feed ourselves, what then? We'll collapse under the stars and before a tornado blows us away or a mudslide buries us, we'll wave to the heavens, to the many spacestations where the privileged will be living, and wish no one had ever seen "The Produers." Either version. (I wonder if Mel Brooks will be up there, too.)

* * * *

Okay, okay, so the bad guys have been raiding the treasuries of countries since the beginning of time and everyone hopes that a Robin Hood will save them. It's not Brook's fault. Oh, wait. He did that movie, too -- "Robin Hood: Men in Tights."

See???? It's all Brooks' fault!!!!

The least he could do for us is write "The Deciders." He'd only have to change a few things around from "The Producers." "Springtime for Hitler" could be "Springtime for Phil Gramm." Stuff like that. Hmm, but we won't be able to afford to see it. Well, I'm sure there are still a few affluent old ladies around to be had.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Aha.. All those funny movies were just a distraction...

[valerief]

2. No, The Producers was a blueprint! A blueprint for economic terror!!!! nt

[BrklynLiberal]

9. We should have been able to see that!! How blind we were!!

[bunkerbuster1]

3. "Well you can lock us up and lose the key

but hearts in love are always free!
Blue skies above
Prisoners of Love
Can't keep our hearts in jail!

[surrealAmerican]

7. Perfect response.

[skooooo]

4. Mel Brooks made it possible for Obama to become President! nt

[valerief]

14. Yeah, President of Pottersville. nt

[skooooo]

29. Sherrif of Rock Ridge!

[BlooInBloo]

5. History of the World is perpetually duels with Airplane for funniest movie ever....

And maybe Caddyshack as well.

[valerief]

16. Moses and the fifteen commandments. Love that skit! nt

[DaveinMD]

17. great movies

but I go with Blazing Saddles.

[pnorman]

6. I get an awful lot of my movie "leads" here on DU.

I just ordered that DVD from Amazon ("New", $8.40 including shipping) I think I'll really enjoy that one!

pnorman

[Mabus]

8. I hope you got the original with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder

'cuz those two along with the scenes with Dick Shawn are priceless.

[valerief]

13. Dick Shawn was priceless! I also loved him in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

He was hilarious.

[Mabus]

18. He was hysterical

I also loved him in "Wake Me When It's Over" and "What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?"

[sufrommich]

20. Dick Shawn and Ethel Merman were the funniest characters

in a movie filled with funny characters. One of my favorite comedies.

[valerief]

22. Ditto. It was Ethel's best pic. When they dumped her upside down and

her girdle was showing, damn that was funny! I always want to hit people with my purse after see that movie, too.

[sufrommich]

24. I love the scene with Dick Brawn driving in his car

with tears streaming down his face,sobbing "I'm coming for you,momma". God,endless funny stuff in that movie.

[valerief]

26. LOL!!!! That image is seared on my brain. nt

[pnorman]

38. That's the one I ordered.

I wasn't even aware of the (later) version until I checked Amazon. I also canceled that order, in favor of the Deluxe version (2 disks). That was only a buck or so more in total price.

pnorman

[Mabus]

45. You will not be disappointed

And thanks for the head's up that there's a Deluxe version. I've been wondering what to get my husband and now I know.

[valerief]

15. Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" couldn't be made today. Back in the seventies,

everyone was in on the racial jokes. Nowadays, well, nowadays we have Disney. Nuff said.

[BlooInBloo]

21. Chappelle could easily make that movie today, imo.

[valerief]

23. Yeah, he could, but it wouldn't get the distribution it would need.

Too many angry Republican white people would protest it.

[intheflow]

33. I agree, it would be labeled a "black movie"

if Chapelle made it, it would only be distributed to movie theaters in certain inner-city zip codes (not the tourist-y zip codes, of course), and would essentially go straight to video where it would be ignored by white patrons as being a "black movie" even though there's only one main black character.

Unless the main character was played by Will Smith or Eddie Murphy. They seem to be non-threatening to white audiences.

[valerief]

34. Yeah, but Chapelle would make it funny. Smith or Murphy would make it "Disneyesque." nt

[intheflow]

35. Disneyesque sells to white folk.

It's so non-threatening!





Adding for the sarcasm-challenged.

[FloridaJudy]

37. It's twue!

It's TWUUUUUE!

[valerief]

41. It rewehy is twue. Hehe. nt

[valerief]

31. An amazing classic film is "The Shanghai Gesture." Just had to mention it.

Not a comedy but if you enjoy film, this one is a wow.

[intheflow]

32. You will not be disappointed.

I force-feed this movie to everyone I meet who hasn't seen it. There aren't many movies that stand up so well over time, but The Producers comes through like a dream. As a purist, I prefer the original with Mostel and Wilder, but the Matthew Broderick version was one of the best remakes I've ever seen. Enjoy!

[BrklynLiberal]

10. Even "Men in Tights", which got terrible revues, had its hysterical moments.

[spanone]

11. it was frau blucher

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=frau+bluche...

[RollWithIt]

12. It's good to be the King... nt

[KharmaTrain]

19. My Inauguaration Day Vision...

As President Obama's motorcade nears the captial, Gabby Johnson is sitting atop the dome with his telescope yelling "here he comes"



Welcome to our new.....

PRESIDENT!!

[valerief]

25. I love taking the power away from that word! That was Brooks' genius.

[The Wizard]

36. Lenny Bruce did it first

followed by Dick Gregory

[valerief]

39. Indeed! Thanks.

[grantcart]

43. his great book

"Nigger - Mom you know every time you hear that word they are just advertising my book"

[pnorman]

40. "He's a ni...."

That too cracked me up, and I may just watch that one again tonight!

pnorman

[Hippo_Tron]

44. The President is near???

No you idiot the President is a ni...

[Motown_Johnny]

27. The original is among my favorite movies of all time

I have avoided the remake because I am worried it may ruin it for me.


Anyways, you kinda have a point. Someone needs to take a closer look at the books.

Remember, it was all an inside job. The accountant was in on the scheme, that is the only way it had a chance of working.

[valerief]

28. Paulson is Bloom. Gramm was Bialystock.

Check out the remake. It's different enough from the original not to ruin it for you. The music is fantastic! It's like a whole other animal and still very funny. I usually hate remakes and I still like the original best of all, but there were some funny moments in the Lane-Broderick version.

[Motown_Johnny]

42. Thanks, I will.. maybe rent it over the Holidays..

I doubt that Gene and Zero can be outdone.. but what the hell.


and we just need to find out where Paulson is sending the money

[The Wizard]

30. You know

not many people know this, but the Feurher was a terrific dancer.
Churchill, with his rotten painting. Hitler, now there was painter. He could paint an entire apartment in one afternoon, two coats.
Upon seeing The Producers, Peter Sellers took out a full page ad in the NY Times urging people to go see Mel Brooks masterpiece.
I must tell the birds.
Whoever thought a Jewish guy from Brooklyn who survived the Battle of the Bulge would make a fortune off Nazi stupidity?
My favorite movie ever. There's a version where the drunk played by William Hickey sees the dynamite plunger and mistakes it for a shoe shine box and puts his foot on it. The one that's usually shown has the scene with the quick fuse blowing up the theater. Actually the Cort Theater on 48th Street was where the movie was filmed.