Young Frankenstein (PG)
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Spiritual kin to Woody Allen's cinematic nostalgia, and one of the all-time great spoofs, this Mel Brooks movie from 1974 mixes love with satire, like all great parodies, to create something sparklingly fresh and somehow familiar. Co-writer Gene Wilder plays Dr. Victor Frankenstein's grandson, who inherits his ancestor's castle and becomes possessed by the desire to create his own monster. He's assisted by Igor's grandson (gamely played by Marty Feldman), whose hump constantly shifts sides, and by a sexy fraulein (Teri Garr) with an intensely fake German accent. (Though the film is supposedly set in Transylvania, the characters speak as though they come either from Bavaria or London.) Even beyond the gorgeous black-and-white cinematography and the dorky score, Young Frankenstein is a heartfelt homage to classic Hollywood filmmaking. The true love is in the details: the soundtrack, full of old-movie pops and hiss; the adorable between-scene dissolves; the "dramatic" close-ups; Wilder's silent-screen-idol eyeliner. The movie's take on forced sex with a monster is so gleefully delivered by Madeline Kahn that you've just gotta love it. And baby, you haven't seen sadism done right till you've seen the monster sing "Putting on the Ritz." (Kate Sullivan)
Review by Kate Sullivan
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