Mel Brooks Strikes Back!

Mel Brooks Strikes Back (2012)

*** (out of 4)

Alan Yentob sits down with Mel Brooks for this one hour interview that has the famous comedian talking about his early life, his days on television and eventually some of the movies he made. I must admit that I had really mixed feelings about this production that turned up on HBO. For starters, yes it's great getting to hear from Brooks but at the same time I must admit that it was rather disappointing that it was longer and didn't dig deeper into his career. We hear about how his mother came to America and we get a great story about him getting caught shoplifting but the majority of the running time deals with stories that aren't all that interesting. Things finally pick up when we get to his professional career but even here you have to wonder why they quit talking about his movies after BLAZING SADDLES. If it weren't for a question from the crowd we wouldn't even have heard about YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. The rest of his filmmography is pretty much overlooked. Again, there are some funny stories told here and it's great seeing Brooks doing the interview but you have to wonder who came up with the questions and why this thing wasn't more focused or at least longer.

I have to say that every cell of my body loves Mel Brooks. But like some of the other reviewers, I wish it was longer and went deeper. I would have loved to hear about Anne Bancroft and their son they had together, what it was like working with Richard Prior, if he was surprised by the success of "The Producers" musical on Broadway, The Elephant Man, and the science of comedy. Also, some of the clips were a little on the long side. I would have rather had more stories from Mel instead of scenes from his movies, which I have all seen a gazillion times. Last but not least, at times, the interviewer falls flat and asks somewhat stupid and uninteresting questions.

All of that being said, I loved it! If the subject matter were anything other than Mel Brooks, I would rate this a 7, but because it's about my beloved Mel, it gets a 9.