High Anxiety

Who:  Amber & Jonathan
What:  High Anxiety
Where:  @ home on DVD
Why:  Jonathan picked it

So I'm sick on the couch, and my husband pulls out High Anxiety, a Mel Brooks movie.  I can't stand Mel Brooks.  But it's his birthday, so I have no complaints.

This movie wasn't half bad.  Normally Mel Brooks movies are unwatchable for me.  But this one wasn't too bad. I might even agree to watch it a second time!

It's a semi-parody of 3 Alfred Hitchcock movies: The Birds, Psycho and Vertigo.

Mel Brooks is a psychologist, taking a job as head doctor of a prestigious psych ward.  The previous head doctor was about to implement some changes, and he mysteriously died.  The head nurse is Cloris Leachman, who is unidentifiable at the ugly (and thin!) nurse.  She's a bad dude, who pretty much runs the joint.

Now, I was pretty sick on the couch, so I wasn't paying 100% attention to the movie, so I might have missed a couple plot points.  But Cloris Leachman is trying to run the entire mental institute by killing off anybody who gets in her way.

Mel Brooks heads to San Francisco to attend a conference.  A lovely lady breaks into his room.   She's the daughter of somebody who has been kidnapped by Cloris Leachman.  Que a HILARIOUS psycho-based shower scene (I admit - I laughed at somebody Mel Brooks did.  I hate to admit that) and a pretty funny The Birds based scene.

Have you seen the classic disaster movie The Towering Inferno?  Then you'll recognize the hotel that Mel Brooks stays in!  Those elevators are famous around the world! (or maybe just famous in my mind)

Mel Brooks is framed for a murder while in San Francisco.  It's crazy Cloris Leachman, trying to get rid of him with out actually killing him.  Stuff happens, yadda, yadda, yadda. Mel Brooks saves the day, and sings a funny song.

I can't say I "recommend" this movie, but I can't recommend anything Mel Brooks (even after seeing this decent movie, I still don't like his stuff) ...