Mel Brooks' autobiography is coming. Knowing how to be funny, without the whitewashing pol. corr.

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Ninety-nine years old, last June 28th . And he plans to remake his “Spaceballs”, which in 1987 mocked science fiction sagas. Not enough, judging by the number of sequels, spin-offs, series, self-parodies that occupy all the screens – in self-parodies, between comedy and camp, we gladly include animated films remade in live-action. Cringe existed before the word became popular. Sitting in an armchair, his back straight as a spindle, Mel Brooks – stage name of Melvin Kaminsky – is wearing a black T-shirt with the words “Spaceballs” written on it . Small in stature, a Jew born in Brooklyn, he became friends with Gene Wilder (and learned to silence with jokes, presumably ferocious, those who made fun of him and wanted to beat him up).

Together on the screen, they will do absolute wonders. 50 years ago, in the happy year 1974, “Young Frankenstein” came out within a few months, making fun of the creature invented by Mary Shelley (on rainy evenings in 1816, on Lake Geneva one could do nothing but write). And “Blazing Saddles” which with its jokes did not leave a single piece of the western intact . Universal made available what was left in the warehouse of the original film, directed by James Whale in 1931. The studio is well reconstructed, with the stretcher in the center, complete with a corpse, which can be lifted up until it meets the lightning bolt that with a spark brings life back to the dead matter. They try and try again, nothing seems to happen. Until something moves from under the shroud. The fact is that Aigor, the hunchbacked assistant – his name is Igor but he wants to mock Dr. Victor Frankenstein who, to hide any relationship with his ancestor, calls himself “Frankenstin” – has taken the brain of a certain – as he says – AB Normal.

It is difficult to see such a funny movie today. For example, Aigor, when he sees it, has a hump, now on the right, now on the left. But when Dr. Frankenstein says to him: “I am a surgeon, I can remove it”, he gets the answer: “which hump?”. Peter Boyle, the actor who plays the creature, is amazing, unfortunately he died in 2006. In the next “Frankenstein” directed by Guillermo Del Toro, the creature will be Jacob Elordi – in November on Netflix. The other title of the magical pairing is “Blazing Saddles”, again with the fantastic Gene Wilder. Set in 1874, with several anachronisms. The prosecutor Hedley Lamarr – furious because they call him Hedy Lamarr, like the actress who gave her contribution as a scientist in the Second World War, and before that swam naked in the Czechoslovakian film “Ecstasy” – wants to speculate by buying the land where the railway will pass. The villagers ask for protection, and he appoints a black sheriff. He rides dressed in Gucci from head to toe, even the bags hanging from the saddle are designer. When things get bad, he puts a gun to his temple and shouts: “Shut up or I’ll kill the nigger!”

That's how it works. With the politically correct bleaching, the effect is miserable. And the same goes for the "mobile" hump. Poor Mel Brooks, he couldn't know. Not even that he would make a commercial to invite people to get vaccinated, during Covid. He married the amazing Anne Bancroft for the second time, another great comic talent. And not only that, comedians are more difficult, the rest is learned: the precision of timing in comedy, otherwise the joke will wilt - it is not required by any other type of acting . These are just a few details. The rest - and it is really a lot, Mel Brooks made his comrades laugh during the Second World War - you can find it in "All About Me!" (La Nave di Teseo). Guest stars: Woody Allen, Carl Reiner, Neil Simon.

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