Mel Brooks' worst film - he had it coming

ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS (1993)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I hated, hated, hated, and despised, despised, despised "Robin Hood: Men in Tights." I first saw it in theaters in 1993 and, despite occasional chuckles, I was deeply disappointed and felt the whole thing was a laughless affair. I saw it again recently, perhaps thinking I was unfair back then, and I am only partially right the second time around.

"Robin Hood: Men in Tights" mostly pokes fun at the Errol Flynn classic from 1938, and there are a few precious digs at the underrated "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves." What is striking is how few gags parody the Robin Hood legend. Cary Elwes is dashing, romantic and plays Robin Hood to the hilt, wearing a feather cap and green tights just like Errol Flynn. He has fun with the part and is madly good at fencing. He plays the part straight, which is fine and expected. However, Brooks directs the film far too straightly, with only mild comic exaggerations.

Excepting future comic star Dave Chappelle and the always funny Dom DeLuise, the rest of the cast is a disaster. Richard Lewis looks and acts like a complete fool as Prince John; Amy Yasbeck plays Maid Marian far too sweetly; and Roger Rees seems to ache for an Alan Rickman impersonation as the Sheriff of Rottingham and fails miserably.

Another problem may be that many of the gags and punchlines are simply uninspired and fairly dumb, especially for someone like Mel Brooks. The Sheriff of Rottingham? A character named Ahchoo? Another character named Will Scarlett O'Hara? Are you kidding me? And there is the final scene between the Sheriff of Rottingham and a witch (Tracey Ullman) that is so badly and flatly executed, you'll wonder how a scene like that got lifted from the cutting room floor.

There are some gags that do work. I love the Robin Hood/Little John standoff scene where the bridge extends over a little puddle in a ditch. I also like the rap song of "Men in Tights." It is also a pleasure seeing Mel Brooks playing a Jewish rabbi who offers "half-off" for circumcisions (though this character plus DeLuise's Don Corleone imitation have nothing to do with Robin Hood). There is a delightful surprise of a cameo at the end that mirrors a similar cameo in "Prince of Thieves." And there is one superbly funny bit involving a movie camera as a peeping tom!

The rest of "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" is merely a blandly and monotonously staged retelling of the basic legend of Robin Hood. Sections of the film transpire without a single laugh, some with an occasional chuckle. I didn't completely hate the film but coming from the man who brought us "Young Frankenstein," "Blazing Saddles," "The Producers" and so much more, it is a major flop and still a laughless affair. I think there were better, funnier gags in Kevin Costner's "Robin Hood."