High Anxiety (1977)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Admirable film.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

"High Anxiety" never reaches the heights of other Brooks classics (despite coming highly recommended), but it ain't bad. Inconsistent, sure, but there are some solid laughs throughout. The gags tend to come at you pretty fast, and Mel takes on everything from "Vertigo", to "Psycho" to "North By Northwest". But it works as both an homage and parody of Alfred Hitchcock, and he's not just shooting fish in a barrel; he's paying due (off-color) respect to the suspense master. Its heart is in the right place. And then there's Cloris Leachman, who takes disturbing to outlandish heights. She's gotta be seen to be believed. She's easily the movie's best feature, no question. 6/10

Mel simply poured in one brilliant idea after the other in this picture. It doesn't strike me in particular that he miscast himself for the lead, or something. The picture was great anyway. There are few dull moments, and the plot has a stamina that many other comedies of this kind doesn't have. Take Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, for one; I never could stand that stupid cheese-maker abduction scheme.Mel's other endeavors have the tendency to be over the top, as Blazing Saddles, that twists inscrutably half the way. High Anxiety kept on track all of the time.Of course Mel could have added even more Hitchcock references to the story. For instance, Dr. Thorndyke could have watched the opposite building through binoculars ("Rear Window") to find out what was the flashing light. I am content with the content the way it is, though.

Unlike Woody Allen, Mel Brooks Films are better when He is off Screen. In short doses the Famed Funny Man can pull it off, but His Charisma is not enough to pull off the Lead as is attested by this rather Flaccid Performance. The Comedy works the best when Brooks is in the Director's Chair and not Mugging it up.Nowhere near at the Top of His Game, the Movie finds itself in the Not Best but Not Worst Category. There are enough Gags that work to make it a worthwhile View, but Sadly some of the Stuff just Bombs Big Time.Unfortunately the Hitchcock Take-Offs that the Movie is built around don't come off as well as when the Funny Cast just goes Bonkers for no reason other than to be Silly and not paying any attention to the Hitch References. Go figure. It was a Good Idea, maybe, but once on the Screen the Tribute to Alfred Hitchcock seems a bit forced and all too obvious. Best for Mel Brooks Fans but Hitchcock Lovers may be disappointed.

Mel Brooks's "High Anxiety" isn't on the level of his masterpieces "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein" but still works nicely as an affectionate spoof of the films of suspense master Alfred Hitchcock. Working in references to "Vertigo", "Psycho", "The Birds", and "North by Northwest", among other classics, it stars Brooks himself as eminent doctor Richard Thorndyke, who's just been hired as the new director of the Psycho Neurotic Institute for the Very VERY Nervous. He eventually gets wind of a dastardly plot engineered by institute staff, including hideous Nurse Diesel (a priceless Cloris Leachman) and weaselly Dr. Charles Montague (Harvey Korman). Fortunately, he has loyal chauffeur / sidekick Brophy (Ron Carey) and lovely Victoria Brisbane (Madeline Kahn, looking quite fetching in a long blonde wig) on his side, as he seeks to discover the fate of Victoria's father Arthur. "High Anxiety" is best described as the kind of movie that has moments; it does indeed have some great comedy set pieces, but others don't work quite as well. It's probably best appreciated by Hitchcock aficionados, who will delight in the references to Hitch's work. Mel, who co-wrote and produced as well, is fun to watch, with the supporting cast (also featuring Howard Morris, Dick Van Patten, Jack Riley, Charlie Callas, Murphy Dunne, and Robert Ridgely) truly getting into the spirit of the thing. Buffs will be pleased to note that that's legendary artist Albert J. Whitlock, who'd actually worked with Hitch, playing the role of Arthur Brisbane, and that future director Barry Levinson ("Diner", "Rain Man"), also one of the writers, plays the lazy, complaining hotel bellboy. Mel further entertains us by belting out the title ditty, which he also composed, and comes up with some genuinely laugh inducing gags. For one thing, we're always made well aware we're watching a movie, as cameras crash into windows and the characters on screen actually take notice of the music score. (Mel upon exiting an airport, at which point the score abruptly cuts off: "What a dramatic airport!") Mel and Madeline also make a wonderful pair and do a great routine at an another airport late in the film. Of all the spoofing done in the film, the jokes relating to "The Birds" are this viewers' personal favourite. Highly recommended to fans of both Hitch and Mel, this begins and ends brightly, and remains likable throughout. Seven out of 10.