Review: Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Blu-ray & DVD: Robin Hood: Men In Tights (1993)
There have been many cinematic outings for Robin Hood and his gang of merry men (the most recent being in 2018 with Taron Egerton in the lead role), but only one of them has Robin firing 6 arrows at once.
Only one of them has a castle being taken away on large wooden wheels to reveal a blind man sat reading an ‘adult art’ magazine on the toilet.
Only one of them has a 19 year old Dave Chappelle playing a character called Ahchoo…bless you!
Yes folks, welcome once again to a wild and wacky (and occasionally musical) world from director Mel Brooks.
If you thought that Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was camp, then pitch a tent and settle back into an exaggerated world where the puns and visual jokes come flying at you faster than the 6 arrows that Robin can fire simultaneously.
Robin Hood: Men In Tights keeps all the usual characters that you’re familiar with from previous stories about the man who ‘stole from the rich and gave to the poor’, but with added Mel Brooks madness thrown in for good measure.
Cary Elwes is superb as a brash and (sometimes overly) confident Robin, while Dave Chappelle showcases his already great comic timing as ‘Ahchoo’…a man whose name can’t be said without at least one other person following it up with ‘bless you‘.
Mel Brooks once again makes an onscreen appearance in one of his movies, this time as a Rabbi who has a unique (and eye watering) way of performing circumcisions. He also calls back to references and gags from his previous work: the ‘walk this way’ gag that he has reused more than once, and many more that are a joy to watch out for if you are a fan of Brooks and his sense of humour…prepare yourself for a particular hangman!
There are cameo performances galore, including Patrick Stewart as King Richard, Tracey Ullman as ‘Latrine’…a witch who is looking for love, but it is Dom DeLuise as ‘Don Giovani’ who steals the entire movie, with a scene so funny that I had to rewind it immediately and watch it again.
This is one of Mel Brooks more ‘family friendly’ comedies, and despite the odd moment where you might have to explain what a chastity belt is that Maid Marion is wearing, this is a movie where people of all ages can sit together and laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Silly preposterous humour (with the odd song and dance number) that raises laughs on a regular basis.
Review by Dave from a disc kindly supplied by Fabulous Films.
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