The Greatest Movie Ever Made
Peter Robinson's recent disappointment in showing Young Frankenstein to his sons made me apprehensive when It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World came up in a conversation with my kids. I quoted a few lines ("it's a big W, I tells ya--a big W!"), remembered a few scenes . . . and started giggling uncontrollably.
I instantly started to worry. Would my children, so far removed from the movie's context, find it dated? Heck, if I watched it again, would I find it dated?
Well, I can report with deep satisfaction that, unlike the execrable work of Mel Brooks, IAMMMMW is a work of even greater genius than I remembered.
The premise: five men and their companions witness a car go over a cliff. Before he dies, the driver reveals his secret: $350K of cash buried in a state park in Santa Rosita, California, under a "big W". A mad chase for the money ensues.
It's hard to imagine a more perfectly crafted film. The premise gives the plot an effortless, accelerating momentum. The dialog wonderfully expresses all the neuroses and grasping neediness lurking within the middle American mind. The characters are realized by a cast of literally dozens of the top comedians of the time: Milton Burle, Buddy Hacket, Ethel Merman, Jonathan Winters, Phil Silvers--that's only a partial list. And the frosting on the cake is a series of insane stunts with cars are airplanes.
Of many superb performances, I must single out that of Terry-Thomas, who plays J. Algernon Hawthorne, a stereotypical Englishman. The stereotype is, of course, cruelly unfair--which is what makes it so funny:
My already sky-high opinion of this movie only increased by re-watching it. Best of all, during the movie, when I asked him if it was living up to the hype, my 13 year old son responded with a simple "oh, yeah!"
Oh, yeah, indeed.
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Nov '11
Re: The Greatest Movie Ever Made
Remember family bonding in helpless hilarity over this one...Thanks!
Aug '10
Re: The Greatest Movie Ever Made
I'll sign on with the pro-Brooks camp here, and use Dick Shawn as my reason. I'm coming Momma is pretty amazingly funny, but his turn as the director in Springtime for Hitler was inspired acting and writing.
Taffeta !
Feb '11
Re: The Greatest Movie Ever Made
WSJ had an article about 5 years ago how there were a lot of scenes cut from that movie thathey still existed, and there was a clamor by fans to re release the movie with them -- and some young studio exec/punk refused, saying "It's a dated movie and I don't find it funny".... and at least as of that point, those deleted scenes have not been seen by anyone.
Aug '11
Re: The Greatest Movie Ever Made
Actually, I think Brook's musical version of "The Producers" is pretty much non-stop hilarious.
I picked up a blueray of "the Graduate" at Costco last year and immediately forgot about it. Over the Christmas Holidays my two oldest girls were home, 26 and 22, and put it on. They were completely taken in and laughed through-out. It has aged extremely well and the soundtrack and cinematography are amazing in blueray.
Aug '10
Re: The Greatest Movie Ever Made
Keep in mind, he didn't direct it.
Feb '12
Re: The Greatest Movie Ever Made
Doug Kimball: Actually, I think Brook's musical version of "The Producers" is pretty much non-stop hilarious.
I picked up a blueray of "the Graduate" at Costco last year and immediately forgot about it. Over the Christmas Holidays my two oldest girls were home, 26 and 22, and put it on. They were completely taken in and laughed through-out. It has aged extremely well and the soundtrack and cinematography are amazing in blueray. · 10 minutes ago
The Graduate? Really? The one with Dustin Hoffman and Mel Brooks' wife? At 22, I found it dull, navel-gazing, and the only genuinely funny moment (simply because of how outdated it is now) is when Hoffman is willing to exchange a $20 for a dime to make a phone call.
Aug '11
Re: The Greatest Movie Ever Made
Amy Schley
Doug Kimball: Actually, I think Brook's musical version of "The Producers" is pretty much non-stop hilarious.
I picked up a blueray of "the Graduate" at Costco last year and immediately forgot about it. Over the Christmas Holidays my two oldest girls were home, 26 and 22, and put it on. They were completely taken in and laughed through-out. It has aged extremely well and the soundtrack and cinematography are amazing in blueray. · 10 minutes ago
The Graduate? Really? The one with Dustin Hoffman and Mel Brooks' wife? At 22, I found it dull, navel-gazing, and the only genuinely funny moment (simply because of how outdated it is now) is when Hoffman is willing to exchange a $20 for a dime to make a phone call. · 55 minutes ago
In full Blue-ray on a 60 inch wide screen with Simon and Garfunkel pumping through the stereo, it's great.
Nov '11
Re: The Greatest Movie Ever Made
I'm gonna jump in late on this thread.
My favorite episode of the Simpsons, Homer the Vigilante (Episode 1F09), turns into It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World at the end.
So, I bought the movie and watched it. And yeah, it was great, woulda been better if I knew who a lot of those comedians were.
My problem with it is this, it's like 3 hours long.
THREE HOURS
That's a touch too long for my Gen X sensibilities.
Nov '11
Re: The Greatest Movie Ever Made
I vote for 'O Brother Where Art Thou' - a newer classic, with great music.
Edited on April 21, 2012 at 4:34pmApr '12
Re: The Greatest Movie Ever Made
The idea of putting so many of the very best comedians, all of them at the height of their powers and their popularity, was genius. In addition to the ones mentioned already, I loved Phil Silvers (it was he that Jonathan Winters wanted to kill when he destroyed the gas station), Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, and who can forget Ethel Merman as Milton Berle's mother-in-law.