Friday, September 7, 2012

Young Frankenstein - Movie Review

This was one of those Mel Brooks movies that slipped out during those Mel Brooks festivals we all watched in the late 90s on videos in Ranjan's house. I finally laid my hands on this movie and it did not disappoint. Gene Wilder is an old associate of Mel Brooks and they all share the same zany humour that is completely over the top and entirely loveable and here the two get together.

Gene Wilder plays Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Frankenstein, who tried to re-animate the dead in his times. Young Frankenstein receives news of a legacy and travels to Transylvania minus his rather fussy fiance. There he meets a nutcase hunchback help, Igor and a beautiful assistant with a one-track mind and a great body. Anyway young Frankesnstein discovers that his ancestor has left behind his work and also a nurse who appears to be have been in love with the great grandfather during his days alive.

Young Frankenstein studies the ancestor's work to re-animate the dead and decides to conduct the experiment. He and his assistant steal a corpse of a recently hanged criminal and try to replace his brain with that of a famous scientist. Unfortunately Igor breaks that container and instead gets another brain from a container named 'Abnormal' (which Igor thinks is the name!). Anyway we have a moaning monster who is out of control with an abnormal mind and he breaks free and causes enough damage in the countryside before Young Frankenstein snares him with some violin music. He uses a technique to transfer some of his brain to the monster and one does not know if it succeeds because the villagers break into their house and carry away the monster.

The monster breaks loose, ends up with Frankenstein's uptight girlfriend, who is intrigued by the monsters love making capabilities and equipment. Of course the monster gets a part of Young Frankenstein's intelligence (while Young Frankenstein gets a huge part of the monster's enviable love making equipment thanks to the transfer experiment). Young Frankenstein marries his assistant while his ex-fiance marries the monster and all's well and that ends well.

Hilarious as always Mel Brook's 'Young Frankenstein' is a must watch for all those who love comedy and Mel Brooks. It's in black and white, apparently to create the effect required of the spoof on horror films. But on a different note, I wonder if our own Sirish Kunder is wildly inspired by Mel Brooks what with his spoofs on sci fi movies and so on. The only thing is that his stuff falls mid-way between a real plot and a spoof (I watched one movie and it was the worst I ever saw.) But Mel Brooks is the master at this kind of stuff and I completely loved it.

2 comments:

Rajendra said...

Yes, must see it again.

Harimohan said...

Raja, I have Blazing Saddles on my list next. But give me Space Balls any day!