High Anxiety Reviews

A damn perfect parody film by the (only) master of that genre, Mel Brooks. Sure, in success, it is often overshadowed by his other works but in terms of originiality and humour, this has to overshadow them all. My first time viewing wasn't really that great and I passed it off as a decent movie but from second viewing onwards, it became funnier each time. Now, you see, Mr. Brooks's films are not the least bit repulsive or disgusting or tasteless, far from it. You won't find people hawking in other people's plates, or people picking their noses, none of that and this is why I feel safe in watching his comedies. Even the now-iconic flatulence scene from Blazing Saddles is funny compared to the modern-shit of the now!

His way of handling a comedy, and the characters, may not be unique or special, but it certainly is one of the best. His style truly brings out the best in the characters and the appropriate timing of the jokes truly brings the experience to a higher level. You see, spoof movies of the then played like full-functioning movies and not like very, very long commercial ads like they tend to do it now. That being said, let's go to the performances:

Young Frankenstein has the best cast, no questions. High Anxiety is number two, argue all you want to. Not only it has the impeccably talented Cloris Leachman, the another impeccably talented Harvey Korman and the irresistible Madeline Kahn, but this time Mel Brooks himself joins the fray, followed closely by funnyman Ron Carey. These five played their roles to almost perfection. Cloris Leachman plays Nurse Diesel; A parody of Nurse Ratched. This is one of her best roles and each & every of her line delivery is the absolute tops. In all senses, the film belonged to her and her solely. Then we have Madeline Kahn as Victoria Brisbane. Female comedians are rarely this better, oops sorry. If you look at Kahn in this movie, then you will realize just how daring and brave she was, because to many, a performance like this can put them in the bin. Anyway, then we have Harvey Korman as Dr. Montague. This dude was just awesome. His facial expressions, line delivery, comic timing, everything was superb. From the males, he was probably matched only by Ron Carey's performance, who plays Brophy, Richard H. Thorndyke's, assistant (who is played by Mel Brooks). Carey's performance may not be unique or special but he filled in the gaps by his originality and likability. He made his character the most memorable from the film!

In conclusion, High Anxiety is damn near perfect and should be, in my opinion, the poster-film of the spoof genre and not Airplane! It's very addictive, achingly funny and filled with good performances all around!

8.5/10