High Anxiety (1977)

Mel Brooks writes, directs & stars in this 1977 comedy that co-stars Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman. This is a send-up of Alfred Hitchcock films, mainly "Vertigo," "Psycho" and "The Birds" and Brooks plays Richard Thorndyke, a psychiatrist who has a fear of heights, "High Anxiety." He helps woman, Victoria Brisbane (Kahn) search for her father, but in the process he's falsely accused of murder and tries to overcome his phobia. Korman (Blazing Saddles) plays Dr. Charles Montague and Leachman (Young Frankenstein) plays Nurse Diesel who set Richard up. This is a good spoof, Brooks is great as usual, the rest of the cast is good as well as John Morris' score. If you enjoys comedies, check this one out.

Mel Brooks is a well known name in comedy and since I also know Alfred Hitchcock movies I thought it would be a good idea to watch this one. It ended up not as great as I expected, but it is still not a bad movie. Unfortunately most of the time I didn't find it too funny. I am not sure if this was like that back when it came out as well or if the humor has changed in the mast few decades.I definitely enjoyed the parody scenes. Mainly the one in the shower, that one was hilarious. The one where the birds are after him is also pretty good. As well when he comes out of the airport in the beginning.Otherwise it wasn't that great. But I really did like the character of Nurse Diesel. This was a great one.A wonderful job by Cloris Leachman. Actually the best scenes in the movie that didn't involve Hitchcock's parody were the ones with her and Harvey Korman. I believe if they wouldn't be in it I would see this movie as below average.

I honestly didn't see why Mel Brooks deciding to take the risk of taking the Mickey out of Hitchcock films! I really didn't think any of the jokes were funny. I only thought the first gag at the beginning of the film, your man brings Mel to the men's bathroom and the man stripped off his clothes. That was gold but the rest of them, so not funny and yet irritating!It would've been better if Mel Brooks just made the story line more interesting and stop concentrating too much on Hitchcock films. I really have nothing more to say but this film has giving me high anxiety in a bad way. Very disappointed, I was so looking forward to Brooks taking the p*ss out of Hitchcock films :/

Honestly, this movie isn't that great. Mel Brooks was never much of a leading man and the role of the nervous psychiatrist would have been better suited to Gene Wilder. The plot is too loose for its own good, the direction is dull, and some of the comedic routines are annoying rather than side-splitting.What saves this movie is the supporting cast, mainly Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman. I chuckled at most of the film, but laughed myself senseless whenever they came on the screen. The scene where she has him tied up in the closet had me and my sisters in stitches for several minutes afterward. Howard Morris is great too as Professor Lilloman, and I really wish he had been given more to do.The only weak spots in the supporting cast are Ron Carey as Brooks' sidekick and Madeline Kahn as the Hitchcock blonde character, Victoria. Carey is just unfunny, though I blame the writing more than the actor. Kahn is usually amazing, but she is wasted in a part that doesn't let her do anything outside of spouting exposition.Overall, you'll have more regard for the parts than the whole.