"Blazing Saddles" is an all out parody of the Hollywood western, and a satire of the old west itself, and all of the racism and unnecessary violence that comes along without. Don't get me wrong though, this isn't a dark film. In fact, this is a monumentally ridiculous film, filled to the brim with meta jokes and insanely over exaggerated stereotypes. It is a subversion of the classic western tale of a sheriff taking on a group of bandits, because it is a tale about a politician working for a governor who devises a plan to appoint the first black sheriff for a town in danger, hoping that the sheriff will fail and the town will be destroyed, making it possible to build the railroad through that town and giving the governor a chance at becoming president since he made history by appointing the first black sheriff. Of course, his plan goes terribly wrong when Bart, the black sheriff, is actually competent, and manages to turn the town's opinion of him around. It often laughs in the face of racism and the barbaric nature of the wild west, with the racist whites often being the butt of many jokes. The irony is that this addresses the real injustices of that time more directly than any of those real classic Westerns.
It is a fun movie with some hilarious moments, most notably the wild, unpredictable, self-referential ending which takes a sharp left turn and goes way farther in that direction than I expected it would. There are plenty more very clever jokes, and it uses everything at its disposal to create punchline after punchline, whether it be physical, visual, verbal, or in a song. However, some jokes did fall flat for me, such as the frog in the bathtub, the beans dinner scene, and most of the "I'm Tired" song, which goes on for far too long, clocking in at 5 minutes and 30 seconds worth of a joke that wasn't very funny to begin with.
Regardless, it has some hilarious writing and performances throughout, with Mel Brooks himself even making an appearance as the idiotic and inept governor. There is humor that is in your face, there is more subtle humor, and there are plenty of obscure references used to craft jokes that you would need to research to understand. It can get a laugh out of a cut, a line, or an action.
It is a fun movie with some hilarious moments, most notably the wild, unpredictable, self-referential ending which takes a sharp left turn and goes way farther in that direction than I expected it would. There are plenty more very clever jokes, and it uses everything at its disposal to create punchline after punchline, whether it be physical, visual, verbal, or in a song. However, some jokes did fall flat for me, such as the frog in the bathtub, the beans dinner scene, and most of the "I'm Tired" song, which goes on for far too long, clocking in at 5 minutes and 30 seconds worth of a joke that wasn't very funny to begin with.
Regardless, it has some hilarious writing and performances throughout, with Mel Brooks himself even making an appearance as the idiotic and inept governor. There is humor that is in your face, there is more subtle humor, and there are plenty of obscure references used to craft jokes that you would need to research to understand. It can get a laugh out of a cut, a line, or an action.