ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS
A film review by Marc Y. Wasserman
Copyright 1993 Marc Y. Wasserman
Rating: D-, 1 star out of four.
ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS is another Mel-Brooks-produced film in the classic tradition of movies like BLAZING SADDLES and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Mel Brooks is well known for his comic look at regular life, his fast paced dialogue and sharp wit.
Unfortunately, ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS has none of the easy going humor of BLAZING SADDLES, none of the fun acting of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, is devoid of the charm of SPACEBALLS, and is even lacking the good, solid dialogue of HISTORY OF THE WORLD. It is, in short, one of the worst movies I have seen Mel Brooks, or anybody else, produce.
The plot borrows heavily from the well-received Kevin Costner movie of last year, ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES. This is not surprising in and of itself, and could have been used to great comic effect, mainly by parodying scenes from the orginal movie. Mel Brooks does not take advantage of this, however, and uses the film to launch several ideas into the air, none of which connect and none of which are explained later on. The movie's scenes could be shuffled around in any order and one would be hard pressed to notice.
Cary Elwes, of PRINCESS BRIDE fame, plays Robin of Loxley, a man who was captured in the Crusades, fighting with King Richard. He escapes and, joining with a man named Achoo (I am sure you can see the obvious joke), fights in England to reclaim his name and the throne for Richard, which has been captured by evil Prince John, played by funny comic Richard Lewis. He also tries for the love of Maid Marian and attempts to overthrow the evil "Sheriff of Rottingham". A good adventure plot that is sadly unused.
Elwes and Lewis are both excellent comics, but the dialogue in the movie is simply excruciating. Neither actor has any good words to work with, and the lines simply aren't funny, nor believable. Perhaps the worst example of this is when the group of merry men encounter a man playing a Macaulay Culkin clone from the hit movie HOME ALONE. This particular scene is so out of place and so badly acted, and followed by so many other scenes of equal miserable ideas, that I really felt like leaving the theatre. Much of the audience continued to look at their watches throughout, and some left the theatre. Chuckles were few and far between, and they mostly dealt with visual jokes (such as an old, beaten up horse from "Rent-a-Wreck") then from any dialogue whatsoever. Scenes that could have been classics, such as the archery contest, are ruined by poor acting.
Perhaps the largest problem with the movie is that it is simply offensive. The basic plot, that Robin has received a key that will unlock the chastity belt of Maid Marian, is not witty nor funny. Mel Brooks as a circumcision-giving rabbi is also offensive to me and others in the audience (not all Jewish, either). The movie simply tries to hard trying to be funny and by and large fails. The addition of a blind man who stumbles around, falling off cliffs, walking into ledges and being a general buffoon could have had some humorous potential, but is also made terribly offensive.
The only reason to see this movie is the surprise actor at the end who plays King Richard. He is well worth waiting for, if you can stand an hour and half of unfunny dialogue, excruciating visual humor, old puns, ancient jokes and bad acting. If you can't, don't even bother watching this miserable film.
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