1977 / 94m - USA
Comedy
1.5*/5.0*
High Anxiety poster

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August 08, 2022

1.5*/5.0*

Mel Brooks takes on Hitchcock. You don't have to be a tremendous Hitchcock fan to get the jokes though, Brooks goes for the familiar bits (bird chases, shower scenes, etc) and layers some of his typical punny/daft comedy on top. It's a shame it's never really all that funny, not even for a simple parody.

Dr. Thorndyke goes to work in a mental asylum. When he gets there, he discovers the doctors are probably more insane than the patients who reside there. They're also hiding some nasty secrets, and to make things worse, Thorndyke is suffering from a nasty case of acrophobia.

Brooks is front and center in this production (he's directing, writing, and acting), but he's just not funny enough. It's a plus that the film goes all in on the comedy, which makes it somewhat watchable, even when the successful jokes are few and far between. I'm just not a big Brooks fan.