Robin Hood: Men in Tights [DVD] [2010]

Can this one-joke spoof possibly be from the same man who gave us The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein? Sadly, the answer is yes. Mel Brooks treads water shamelessly with Robin Hood: Men in Tights and the few laughs to be had depend almost entirely on mocking Kevin Costner's earnest blockbuster Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves from two years earlier ("Unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent", boasts Cary Elwes' Robin). Not only is this far too easy a target for a skit, but the single-film parody concept is stretched way too thin over an entire movie (Brooks elected to repeat the trick with 1995's Dracula: Dead and Loving It). Elwes models his portrayal on Errol Flynn, but only infrequently gets to have fun with the legend: in the climactic sword fight, for example, the shadow play of Flynn and Basil Rathbone's sheriff is affectionately parodied, but such moments are few and far between. Brooks regular Dom DeLuise chips in with a Marlon Brando impersonation, but everyone else is simply taking off characters from the Costner movie: Patrick Stewart even gives us his best Sean Connery impression as a Scottish Richard I. Brooks himself does his stock Jewish act, this time as Rabbi Tuckman; Isaac Hayes has a small cameo in the Morgan Freeman part but seems to think Jerusalem is in Africa; while his on-screen son (David Chappelle) makes the mistake of reminding the audience of what they are missing: "A black sheriff? Why not, it worked in Blazing Saddles". Indeed it did.

On the DVD: Precious few extras here, just a small behind the scenes feature and trailer. But the anamorphic picture looks good. --Mark Walker

1.85 Wide Screen
DVD 5
German\Italian
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Surround English German Italian
Dolby Digital Surround
Original Theatrical Trailer
Featurette
Filmographies
Scene Selections
Arabic\Czech\Danish\English\Finnish\German\Greek\Hebrew\Hindi\Hungarian\Icelandic\Italian\Norweigan\Polish\Portuguese\Swedish\Turkish

A parody of the much-done medieval English tale of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Robin Hood: Men in Tights also directly lampoons the politically correct Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which starred the hearthrob of the time, the very un-British Kevin Costner. English hearthrob Cary Elwes gets a turn in the role of the hero of Sherwood Forest who robs from the rich to give to the poor when he returns from the Crusades to find his beloved King Richard (Patrick Stewart in an amazing Sean Connery imitation) usurped by the evil Prince John (Richard Lewis) and his henchman, the Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Rees). In typical Brooks fashion there is much satire, some gross jokes, a dash of screwball farce, and a Jewish spin put on gentile characters: Hence, Friar Tuck is transformed into Rabbi Tuckman (Mel Brooks), who is eager to perform circumcisions on the dim-witted Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Tracey Ullmann further livens up the ensemble as the witchlike cook Latrine. Those familiar with other Brooks films will also note moments parodying some of the director's own past spoofs, including High Anxiety and Blazing Saddles.

Chapter Selection

Start
Sherwood Forest Rap
Kalil Prison
Ahchoo
Loxley Hall
Blinkin
Sheriff Of Rottingham
Marian
Prince John
Latrine
Little John
Will Scarlet O'Hara
Party Crasher
Challenged to a duel
Give Me Your Ears
Training Sequence
Strucky has Loxed Again
Stealth Catapult
Rabbi Tuckman
Don Giovanni
Men In Tights
The Night Is Young And You're So Beautiful
Royal Archery Contest
Mervin And Marian
Saved By The Bow
The Fight Scene
Better Wed Than Dead
Good to Be The King