Mel Brook's biggest indulgance as a film maker was also his biggest flop. There are several possible reasons ... The seminal and hysterical "Airplane!" had been released a couple of years previous to this. "Airplane!" is generally considered to have done to film parody what "Star Wars" did to sci-fi. In contrast, Mel's vaudavillian style burlesque humour may have been too old fashioned (despite the littering of swear words and dirty jokes). However, I'm afraid there is only one real reason this filmed failed to make any money. It wasn't funny. Attacking history with his shop worn comic shtick may have been too great a task. Also, Mel is credited as writing, producing and directing this picture single handedly. Perhaps he spread himself too thin this time. The film gets off to a funny enough start with a lampooning of Kubrick's ultra dull epic "2001: A Space Odessy" by having a load of primates masterbating. We are then given a narrated documentary of stone age man. There are some gags, but nothing great. Then there is a wonderfull Brooks moment as he plays Moses, dropping one of the stone tablets with the 15 commandments on it. Then there is a long sketch about the Roman Empire and things get deeply dull. Despite Madline Khan, this section has few laughs. If there were any, the atmosphere is murdered by a repulsive performance by the ever unfunny Dom De Luise. Never funny, but here he manages to be stomach churningly awful. Because you can see it in his eyes. He THINKS HE'S FUNNY!!!! The Spanish Inquisition suffers for the same reason. Mel is in the full grip of meglomaniac narcasism. You think he's parodying big show tunes and dance numbers with that cheesy grin? He's trying not to laugh at his own comic genious, leaving the rest of the audience out of the joke. On the plus side we get a hysterically funny snippet of two imprisoned Jews relating their woes in the form of song. The French Revolution segmant is the most consistantly funny. Harvey Korman makes a brilliant appearance with a great character name. There are a load of great gags. You get the impression that the cast, including Brooks, have finally got the balance needed to make the oddball script work. The legendary Spike Milligan upstages Brooks with his small role in the film. Mel, however, is in much better form and as the film comes to an end some will feel not totally cheated. There is a trailer for the film's sequal with probably the best gags.
The film is episodic, which is fine. But too often, Mel Brooks streches what is nothing more than a funny three minute sketch into a feeble twenty minutes. Mel Brooks fans will manage to watch the film and be amused. I'm a fan, however, and thought it a supreme waste fo time.
