High Anxiety

 

            Continuing with a list of movies I need to watch, High Anxiety is a Mel Brooks film that I was strangely in sense, aware of this being a Mel Brooks parody to Alfred Hitchcock though in a honorable sense a tribute to Hitch himself. Now in all the research I looked for in terms of development and in all fairness, I couldn't find anything on what made Mel Brooks decide on why he chose to make a parody with all well, half of Sir Alfred Hitchcock's films. Though I would imagine that Hitch was making his final movie in 1976, furthermore he decided to call it retirement from Hollywood and would imagine when Brooks heard about it decided to make a tribute parody in his honor. 

            Just after becoming the director of the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very, Nervous, Dr Richard H. Thorndyke (Mel Brooks) is greeted by a series of mysterious events. When his colleagues -- including the militaristic and mustachioed Nurse Diesel (Cloris Leachman) -- become leery of his question as he struggles to clear his name during a crippling bout of a condition known as high anxiety.

            Before the release of the film, Mel Brooks invited Sir Hitchcock himself to a private screening. And through the course of the screening Brooks was in a state of fear because Hitch wasn't showing a whole lot of emotion furthermore left without saying a word. Then days later Hitch sent Brooks a case of some expensive wine, gave him a note of his approval and stated he wished he worked on this parody as well. For which shows a lot of class to some of these icons that aren't afraid to show their sense of humor and goes back to when Brooks was working on Blazing Saddles, offered legendary actor John Wayne a role in the movie, though Wayne sadly turned him down due to keeping his public image though promised Brooks that he would certainly be the first person to go see Blazing Saddles. I was aware of the films existence though I was a bit uncertain in terms of wanting to actually watch the movie, though again this was on the list my brother made for me and so, I had to watch this movie and really I wished I watched this movie sooner, hell this film speaks for itself and proves that I should never underestimate the power of Mel Brook's comedic talents, I mean this is the same guy who improvised the greatest joke by screwing with a talk show host when asking Brooks about losing his father at a young age and Brooks reply's "No, my father died and if we lost him we would send people out to find him", furthermore if you look up Mel Brooks and dad dying I would assure you, you'll find it and have a great laugh. Now granted I would always say yes in watching High Anxiety but if you haven't seen a Alfred Hitchcock movie or a young buck then I would wait on High Anxiety and watch the important Hitchcock films first before you dive deep into High Anxiety because the worst thing and the last thing, I would want anyone to do is watch this film right away and not get the jokes. Moreover, it's best you watch a good chunk of Hitch's films so you can get the context of the comedy as well as the references along the way. Now to all of those whose been raised on Hitch's films then I would highly recommend watching this film from start to finish moreover proves that this was a great tribute to Sir Alfred Hitchcock's legacy as a filmmaker as well as something to laugh at and experiencing some great jokes in the film as well and especially how they were able to execute the great references as well. Moreover this and a good portion of Brook's films are great examples of how you should do a parody, and not overdo it with a whole lot of references like A Million Ways to Die in the West, and the most important things you have to do, is basically keep it simple and you a good three movies top to make a great parody and use a few movie references as possible. The film alone is on both HBO Max and Hulu unless you don't have the bundle package so, if you’re ever looking for a great comedy to sit down and enjoy from beginning to final frame then I would highly recommend watching this great Brooks classic.