Blazing Saddles (1974)
The sheriff is near!
THE SUMMARY: After quicksand reroutes railroad construction, the territorial government schemes to cause chaos and conflict in a small frontier town, only to be duped and defeated with treachery themselves. An absolutely legendary comedy, not just for its trademark outrageous racism, but for much subtler bits too. It’s an impressive accomplishment when I expect a movie to be funny, and it still exceeds and surprises.
FROM MOVIE-PICKER JACOB: This is legitimately the funniest movie I think I've ever seen. It's so refreshing to watch a movie from the 1970s at the height of anti-PC culture. Society was the closest when we could all laugh at ourselves and each other.
THE BEST:
Top-shelf racism: I knew based on others’ descriptions I was in for a slur-fest, so perhaps that surprise didn’t hit me as much as it could have, but there’s a lot to appreciate here beyond the shock of it and how our culture has grown regrettably sensitive and soft in the decades since. The mockery is equal opportunity - everyone is stereotyped and everyone is slurred. The Chinese guy at the start probably gets the harshest treatment of them all - he just gets worked to death and doesn’t even get a chance to respond. Or maybe the Irish get it the worst - they’re the ones nobody will tolerate.
But so much of the slur comedy isn’t just simple shock. It’s delivery, and actual cleverness too. I can’t stop watching the clip of the old woman. Her initial greeting is shockingly hilarious, yes, but it’s the callback later with the apologetic pie that really completes the bit. It’s not just ‘bad words’ comedy. It’s creative and clever slurring, not just the slur for the slur’s sake. Honorable cleverness mention for the ‘my grandmother was Dutch’ line.
This movie is a demonstration of how much is lost when we decide not just that certain words are outside the Overton window, but entire topics of discussion. We don’t just lose the ability to speak candidly - we lose spheres of comedy and other art that may derive from it as well. Contrary to today’s conventional wisdom, I think the cultural tolerance of this sort of ‘racism’ actually corresponded with better race relations overall. When we can all laugh at each other, a lot can be healed. When certain perspectives are censored, animosity and conflict worsen.
It should be noted this movie wasn’t free from pushback in its time, though - in fact, it was almost never released. When the movie was pre-screened for Warner Brothers executives, Mel Brooks said ‘there were few laughs… they said it’s simply too vulgar for the American people. Let’s dump it and take a loss.’ The studio president insisted otherwise, and the movie became Warner Brothers’ top moneymaker that summer.
I’m thankful for that. Blazing Saddles is a benchmark of cultural reference, a place I’d like to return to.
Good morning, ma’am!
The sheriff is near!
Based about government agents: Just because the movie is a comedy doesn’t mean it isn’t mocking very serious problems. The governor is a sex-addicted idiot, concerned only with protecting his ‘phony baloney job.’ Attorney General Lamarr is the OG Soros-funded prosecutor, stoking hostility and chaos for personal gain. His methods are just as relevant today - sending thugs to rough people up, ‘diversifying’ the neighborhood, and appointing racial minorities to power positions not for qualification, but just selfishly for the optics and political career advancement. The only unrealistic thing about Lamarr is he’s too honest, openly saying, at least to the audience, ‘law and order is the last thing I want!’
It’s notable that all the movie’s conflict is instigated and perpetuated by the government itself. The presentation may be a big joke, but the fundamental concept isn’t.
Excellent slapstick: Come for the outrageous slurs, stay for the outrageous slapstick. Often physical comedy bores me, but this too was wonderfully original. Here I thought Arnold had a good bit punching a reindeer in Jingle All the Way - turns out he stole it from Blazing Saddles (at least in horse form). And that wasn’t even the funniest horse bit - the horses flying through the sky during the detonation of the fake trap town had me laughing harder. Plus the many bits Taggart’s raid on Rock Ridge deserve credit too. The guy getting his hat shot twice, the man worried about his suit, punching the old woman - several laughs consecutively.
Excellent subtle comedy and writing: Buried under the movie’s overt comedy is its shining subtlety. Some of the best bits are easy to miss - momentary, but legendary. The most underrated scene is Lamarr evaluating the line of criminals. The ‘I like rape’ line is the usual outrageous sort of funny, but the chewing gum gag is the funniest part. Completely innocent, but hysterical in its delivery. Likewise for the Waco Kid’s introduction: ‘my name is Jim, but most people call me… Jim.’ Blazing Saddles nails comedy of all styles, from simple smirks to gut laughs.
I hope you brought enough for everybody!
Well, that’s the end of this suit.
You can’t park that animal over there!
Excellent music: Even though I think this movie is slightly overdone in its musical indulgence (see Lili Von Shtupp below), the quality of the music itself is great. The opening theme immediately sets a memorable tone with a catchy melody and aggressive whip cracks, and the narrative song when the town is raided complements the slapstick well.
THE WORST:
Lili Von Shtupp: She’s the weakest character and the most boring bit. Not funny. Not charming. Not interesting. And worst of all, her musical performance drags on needlessly. The movie is only an hour and a half, but her singing seems like an hour of it.
THE RATING: 5/5 Wickies. My boredom with Von Shtupp aside, this movie made me laugh in every way, from the outrageous slurs, to the ridiculous slapstick, to its subtler writing. If comedy is measured in out loud laughs and quotables, Blazing Saddles earns the highest marks in both.
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NEXT WEEK: The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
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