Life Imitates Art: Could the Donald Trump Campaign be a Bialystock Production?

Trumped! is a genius riff on Mel Brooks' The Producers, using the original Broadway (and Hollywood) stars, Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. Instead of swindling investors on the very, very bad Springtime for Hitler musical, it's the Trump campaign!

The Many Faces of Donald Trump

Click to embiggen. Source: Salon.

This is right up my alley, for a number of reasons, but chief among them: the cartoonishness of Donald Trump. I'm glad that some of the air is finally going out of his balloon, and hoping it either pops or just slowly pffffts in a twirl, down to the ground.

But I call the Powerfrown the "Nurse Diesel," with apologies to Cloris Leachman.

[Excerpt]

The Many Faces of Donald Trump: A handy guide to the Trumpsplainer, the PowerFrown, and more

Donald Trump has taken the political world by storm, catapulting from joke– to frontrunner–status in the space of just a few surreal, xenophobic months. You simply cannot avoid his face right now. . .

Read more at: Salon

 

What Happens in Vegas: Caesars Filing for Bankruptcy?

Several years ago, the big casinos on the Las Vegas Strip started consolidating. Very quickly, they pretty much came to be two gigantic companies, Caesars Entertainment and MGM/Mirage. There are exceptions, but not many. And of course, these two gigantic companies own and/or operate casinos and resorts all over the country and around the globe. But are casino companies too big to fail?

Apparently not. As hard as it is to believe that a business centered on mostly casinos--where the game is always tilted toward the house--could possibly fail. But given that it can, it ought to be a lesson for the rest of corporate America: your colossal corporations--formed by decades of unchecked consolidation--could fall victim to the same thing. I for one would be very excited to see some of the consolidated businesses in many industries be trust-busted, like we used to do. We could start with the media.

I'm so sorry, sire!

[Excerpt]

Caesars, Creditors Said to Have Deal on Unit’s Bankruptcy
 
Caesars Entertainment Corp. (CZR) reached an agreement with key senior creditors on the outline of a debt restructuring plan that includes a prearranged bankruptcy for its largest unit as soon as January, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations. Under the plan being negotiated by first-lien bondholders including Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. and Pacific Investment Management Co., the casino company would put its Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. unit into Chapter 11 proceedings as soon as Jan. 14, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. . .

Read more at: Bloomberg

Grazing Cattle! (Another Rocky Mountain Mike Parody)

I'll freely admit to still not really getting this whole Cliven Bundy cattle grazing dispute. I mean I get that this Bundy guy is peeved and doesn't want to pay the rev-en-ooers. But try as I might, I can't figure out what kind of leg he has to stand on, or exactly what the "freedom" principle is here.  But the good news is, it's provided fodder for yet another Rocky Mountain Mike parody, and this one is inspired: Blazing Saddles, writ large! It's great! And it makes as much sense as anything else. And how weird is it. . .Cliven. . .Cleavon?!?

Blast from the Past: Best of Madeline Kahn!

I recently joined a group on Facebook called Hollywood Babylon. Each day, they have a topic, and invite members to post pictures or videos. Very, very often, Madeline Kahn comes up (often from me, admittedly). Kahn's heyday was the early 70s to early 80s, making a name for herself in movie comedies, especially those by Mel Brooks. She also appeared in other venues like The Muppet Show and Saturday Night Live. It was on SNL where she appeared with Gilda Radner, brilliantly melding Gilda's Barbra Walters parody Baba Wawa with Madeline's Marlene Dietrich impression. Interestingly, Madeline frequently co-starred with Gene Wilder and Gilda married him. Sadly, both actresses--who will always be linked in my mind--died ovarian cancer in different years, both far too young. In both cases, I and many others felt absolutely robbed of a favorite entertainer, and it for some reason felt personal. But it's great that we can replay our favorite performances whenever we want to.

So, here in no particular order, are some of my favorite Madeline Kahn performances. Enjoy!

And that's just a small slice of the genius that was Madeline Kahn. Hopefully, it puts a smile on your face to greet the week with. Happy Monday!

Blast from the Past: Spoof Movies, Pt. 2

Last week, in Blast from the Past, I shared trailers from some of the best spoof movies of all time. Not surprisingly, most were from the masterful Mel Brooks, and some combination of ZAZ (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker), and we won't stray far from them here. This week's collection isn't quite up to the level of Part 1 by necessity. They were just the best. But there is some gold to be found here.



1. Naked Gun 2-1/2: The Smell of Fear - Police show parody - You'd think I'd put The Naked Gun: From the files of Police Squad! as my pick from the series, but no. The first in the series was the revival of the short-lived television show. It was funny, and provided fodder for the series, but was a little thin, especially toward the end. Part 2 was consistently funny, end-to end. Part 3 rehashed a lot from the original series, so Part 2 wins it. All are worthy of your time, and are responsible for Leslie Nielsen's resurgence, and Hollywood's belief that he'd make any movie funny. Here, it was true. ***

2. Hot Shots! Part Deux - Rambo/war movie parody - Like the inferior Airplane II: The Sequel, this movie put its title's suffix into the lexicon. If you hear "part deux" or "the sequel," that's where it came from. Unlike the latter, HS!PD is a worthy sequel, if slightly less so than its predecessor. This time, Charlie Sheen (in his prime) is aping both Rambo and Apocalypse Now, along with several other movies. He's helped along by Richard Crenna, Rowan Atkinson, Ryan Stiles and Lloyd Bridges. It kinda runs out of gas about 2/3 of the way through, but there are memorable gags throughout. Recommended. **-1/2

4.

3. Scary Movie - Scream/horror movie parody - The first in the series--by the Wayans brothers--is a gem, funny, filthy and a lot of fun. It closely follows the Scream movies, and parodies the crap out of them. Which is kind of funny, when you consider that Scream was sort of a send-up of horror films in the first place, and had the working title, Scary Movie. This movie also put Anna Ferris on the map, in the first of four in the series. The Wayans' take on what is essentially a white-centric movie genre is genius. ***

Scary Movie 3 - Parody of Signs and The Ring - Part 2 of this series was just terrible, mostly for Chris Elliot (decidedly not for every taste) and the fact that it strayed so far from the first movie. Part 3 took the series out of the Wayans' hands, and into David Zucker's. It was perhaps his last funny movie. Very funny, again with Charlie Sheen. But if you watch the outtakes, you'll see what a mess it could have been (and reasons why the movie is a little disjointed in places). Part 4, also by Zucker, has its moments, but is not worthy of this list. **-1/2



5. History of the World, Part I - Historical epic parody - This one doesn't rate in the top mostly because it is wildly uneven. There are moments--many moments--of genius in this film. In my storied pop culture consciousness, there are quotes from this film aplenty. But lo these many years later, it just doesn't hold together. I find myself fast forwarding in places. But the French Revolution, Spanish Inquisition and Roman Empire sections are golden. I'd tell you more but I'm on my wine break. Mel Brooks managed to pull this one up above the line, but not to true greatness. **

6. Spaceballs - Star Wars/space movie parody - Critics said that this movie was curiously late, 10 years after Star Wars. But, did they say that about Young Frankenstein, 42 years later? Anyway, that wasn't really my problem with it. It has funny, memorable moments. It is classic Brooks. But it's thin. It feels like an hour's worth of jokes, spread over 96 minutes. Makes the list for the many classic bits, but just barely. **



7. Monty Python's The Meaning of Life - Historical epic parody - This one is one of my favorites, but like History of the World (and Monty Python in general) is wildly uneven, and not for every taste. Uproarious in places, head-scratching in others. **-1/2

8. Shaun of the Dead - Zombie/horror parody - This one should really be in my first list, to be fair. It is perhaps the best of the bunch, since it works as both a superb parody, and as an effective movie of its genre by itself. Hilarious, tense, well acted, and well written. Certainly the most in-genre spoof movie, but closely tied with Young Frankenstein for authenticity. Simon Pegg made his name here. ****

See, they put him in everything.

Also rans: Repossessed, the Exorcist parody really tries, but too hard. Airplane II has its moments. Naked Gun 1 & 33-1/3 do too. The Creature Wasn't Nice (also known as Spaceship!) has some classic moments, but is kind of cheap. Don't be a Menace to South Central while Drinking Your Juice in the Hood is funny, but way outside my pop culture zone, as is I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (both are worthy, I'm just unworthy to review them). Austin Powers and its sequels probably qualify, but sort of became an entity unto themselves. Not Another Teen Movie has some very good jokes (and Chris Evans), but is responsible for. . .

Terrible spoof movies: Disaster Movie, Date Movie, Meet the Spartans, Superhero Movie, Epic Movie, countless others, and the worst spoof movie of all time: An American Carol. Its spectacular badness is only rivaled by The Happening, which is possibly a spoof, but is so bad it doesn't matter.

And that's it for now. Have a great Monday, everyone!

Blast from the Past: The Best Spoof Movies of All Time (Part 1)

Image from Wikipedia.

So, I'm thinking of things for Blast from the Past today during my walk, and I came up with a great idea! And now, I have no idea what it was. But I still have a column to do. So, why not the best spoof movies of all time? It's one of my favorite pop culture things, and they're the kind of films you can watch over and over again. Unfortunately, today's generation has been fed a series of hideously bad spoof movies like Date Movie and Meet the Spartans. They really need to read this list, and check out some of the films on it, to see how it's supposed to be done. These are in no particular order, but I've given each a score on a * to **** scale.

1. Blazing Saddles (1974) - Western spoof. This is Mel Brooks' funniest film (his best is below), and he's chased it ever since. Don't get me wrong, I'm in awe of the man. But his best work was in 1974. The cast, Cleavon Little, Harvey Korman, Slim Pickens, Madeline Kahn, and especially Gene Wilder are sublime. The jokes are rapid-fire, and hilarious. The script (co-written by Richard Pryor among others) would never be green-lit today. But it will live on forever on video. If you haven't seen it, add it to your movie list. ****

2. Young Frankenstein (1974) - Universal horror spoof. Mel Brooks' best film by a mile, and funny too, if less rapid-fire than Blazing Saddles. Probably more quotable than any other film in history, this is a cinematic masterpiece. It's as much an homage to the original Frankenstein series as it is a send-up. Wilder is also at his best, and ably supported by Terri Garr, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman and Madeline Kahn. ****



3. High Anxiety (1978) - Hitchcock spoof. The last Mel Brooks film of the list isn't in a league with the first two, but is better than most attempts by others. And it holds a very special place in my pop culture noggin. I've loved this since I saw it (again and again) on TeleCinema, the precursor to HBO. Madeline Kahn doesn't enter until the second half, but is fantastic. Cloris Leachman is demented and very memorable as Nurse Diesel. Harvey Korman, Ron Carey, Dick Van Patten and many others are all pros. The more you know Hitchcock, the better you'll like it. ***

4. Airplane! (1980) - Disaster movie spoof. This is one of the funniest movies of all time, by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker (ZAZ). It's somewhat dated, having been shot in the waning days of the 1970s. But considering the heyday of disaster movies was the 70s, that actually helps with the humor. Robert Hays and Julie Haggerty are pitch perfect, but it's the unlikely comedic performances of Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen (at the time, not known for comedy), Peter Graves and Robert Stack that added an extra layer of brilliance. (Followed by a much lesser sequel) ****

5. Hot Shots! (1991) - Top Gun parody. Jim Abrahams of ZAZ was behind this one, and he loses nothing without the Zuckers. It's a riot. It spoofs far more than Top Gun, though it uses that movie as a framework. Charlie Sheen is terrific in the lead, and supported by many funny supporting actors, including Lloyd Bridges (again). (Followed by a decent sequel) ***-1/2

6. Top Secret! (1982) - Elvis movie/Cold War parody. ZAZ again, and this one is an odd one to try to describe. In addition to Elvis movies, and "behind enemy lines" Cold War movies, this one spoofs The Blue Lagoon, beach movies, westerns and even The Wizard of Oz! Scattershot, but oh-so funny. Val Kilmer--in his first major role--is fantastic: singing, dancing and hilarious. Not a lot of famous co-stars, though Omar Sharif and Peter Cushing are here, but it doesn't matter. It's the characters that make this one, and wow, what characters! Deja Vu, Latrine and Chocolate Mousse, just to name a few! This one is only marred by a too-abrupt ending. Watch it.  ***-1/2

And that's going to have to wrap it up for this week. More to come! In the mean time, have a great Monday!

Greenlee Gazette Exclusive: Herman Cain Makes Dramatic Exit from Town Hall Meeting

The Stupid Monkey Planet News Team were sent on assignment to cover a town hall meeting featuring Herman Cain & a few other lesser known candidates.

Of course, the press & public wouldn't let Cain's sexual harassment issue die. No matter how he tries they won't let it go. He did his best to move on to other subjects... but the evil liberal press just kept pushing him.

Before things got completely out of hand the the town hall moderator stepped in & decided to put the issue to rest once & for all.

The moderator announces that a simple test could prove whether or not Cain was some sort of serial sexual harassment assault monster incapable of controlling his urges... As so many women have made him out to be.

The moderator begins by calling all of the candidates to the front of the room. A visibly nervous Cain is seen on the far left.

With no further comment... We'll allow the footage speak for itself:

 

Separated at Birth: Donald Trump & Nurse Diesel

With apologies to the great Cloris Leachman, with this particular image of Donald Trump, I keep seeing hints of Leachman's Nurse Diesel character from Mel Brooks' High Anxiety. If I could find a better picture of Nurse Diesel in that pose, you'd see it more clearly. But then, you'd also see that she's the one with the better hair.

Blast from the Past: Greenlee Gazette's Favorite Comedy Movies (Part 1)

There are so many, I can't narrow them down to just one batch. So here is the first in (at least) two parts!






#1 and #2-3/4 - Airplane! and The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (#1 - 3) - I'm combining these movies because the video I found does the same. In truth, Airplane! is at the top of the heap, and the Naked Gun series slots in slightly down the list. But I defy you to get any of these four movies, and not laugh. It's my litmus test for a sense of humor.

#3 - What's Up, Doc? - One of the funniest movies of the 70s starred (at their physical peaks) Ryan O'Neal and Barbra Streisand, not to mention Madeline Kahn in her introductory role, Kenneth Mars, John Hillerman, Phyllis Albertson, Sorrell Brooke and Randy Quaid. It's a comic masterpiece, and if you don't think so, well. . .there's no hope for you. Represented here by one of the few embeddable videos I could find, a blooper reel.

#4 - Top Secret! - From the wonderful ZAZ! team (before David Zucker lost his ever-loving mind) was this under appreciated comic masterpiece, starring Val Kilmer at his absolute best. Not to be missed.

#5 - Ruthless People - Again, ZAZ! in one of their more straight-ahead comedies, produced this gem, starring Danny Devito and Bette Midler. It's one of the funniest movies of the 80s.

#6 - Young Frankenstein - Surely one of the most artistic and well-executed spoof movies of all time, Young Frankenstein marks the pinnacle (along with Blazing Saddles) of both Mel Brooks' and Gene Wilders' careers. Nothing short of perfection. Frau Blucher!!!

#7 - Blazing Saddles - Of course, with the last entry, I couldn't forget this one. Not only is this a spectacular spoof, an fantastic skewering of racism, and a masterful bit of film making. . .it's also a pop culture touchstone for its generation. Along with Young Frankenstein, this movie is so full of talent, so jam-packed with jokes and one-liners, the two films may have more quotable lines than any ten other movies.

Republicans of the Senate: F**k the Poor!

An oldie, but a goodie, and incredibly appropriate.

Republicans' Message to the Unemployed

'Nuff said.

Michael Steele: Americans Have No Fundamental Right to Health Care

Why is it that when I hear a Republican like Michael Steele say something like this. . .



I think of this. . .

Kennedy Center Honors Mel Brooks

I love Mel Brooks. Seriously. I think I've watched his films more times than virtually any others. Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, Silent Movie, History of the World Part I and High Anxiety. I've been dismayed that movie wise, he lost his mojo after about 1980. Most everything after that was scattershot or even bad. But he got some Broadway mojo with The Producers and (again) Young Frankenstein. So good for him. Even though his glory years were only about 10 years in the movies, his career is much more than that, and he deserved the honor he got this week.



Edited to add one of my favorite scenes from the overlooked High Anxiety.

Little Tea Party on the Prairie: The Earliest Tea Baggers

Watching the political shows this morning, I got irritated at the "year in review" chatter when it got to the tea baggers. The "tea party" movement is treated like a legitimate, grass roots force--when it isn't really either--with a valid, righteous anger. The truth is, the corporations and the prominent conservative politicians co-opted the movement early, stealing any sense of legitimacy it may have had. Worse, the anger felt by these assembled morons "partiers" is so diffused, so frickin' all-over-the-place, it is difficult to call it legitimate. Doesn't it seem to you that they're angry about something, but not quite putting their finger on it?

They claim it is about taxes--though their taxes have yet to go up. They claim it is about communism, Marxism, socialism, any -ism, though most of them would be hard pressed to give you distinct definitions for each. They claim that the Constitution is threatened by the current administration, though they showed no distress over Bush/Cheney using it as toilet paper. Yes, there is something that brings out all this anger. What, oh what could it be? I think this nearly 40-year-old clip from Mel Brooks' classic Blazing Saddles accurately depicts exactly what has the tea baggers so bound up. Some, like Janeane Garofalo agree with me. Your mileage may vary.

A Tribute to Dom DeLuise

My previous post about the passing of Dom DeLuise seemed insufficient for somebody who brought so much joy to my childhood and beyond. So, I've been surfing the YouTubes for some clips. Unfortunately, I could only find two decent ones. See if you remember these. (Double-click to embiggen)



1 - History of the World, Part I - Dom as Emperor Nero/Caesar of Rome. Remember, thou art mortal!

2 - Blazing Saddles - Buddy the choreographer brings us "The French Mistake!"

Dom DeLuise Dies at 75

Image from source, NY Daily News

Some of the stars of my greatest pop-culture memories growing up are dying away. Since I've had this blog, I've chronicled the deaths of Bea Arthur, Suzanne Pleshette, Tom Poston, Ricard Montalban, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, Eartha Kitt, Paul Newman, Estelle Getty, George Carlin, Harvey Korman, Vampira, Alice Ghostly and Evel Kneivel. Considering that this blog is only two years old, and this is a partial list, it can get kind of depressing.

Today, Dom DeLuise died, taking the list of comedy stars I grew up with past the tipping point. I think more of my favorites from that era are now dead than alive. Certainly, in DeLuise's milieu--Burt Reynolds, Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder movies--the list of the dearly departed is long. My favorite DeLuise movies are Hot Stuff, Silent Movie, Blazing Saddles, History of the World Pt. I and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. But even in those stinkeroo old Reynolds movies, DeLuise was hilarious. In fact, the "bloopers over the credits" trend in movies may have been started just to showcase DeLuise's brand of hilarity.

It's been a while since I've seen DeLuise shine, but he'll still be greatly missed.

[Excerpt]

Comedic actor and cookbook author Dom DeLuise dies at 75

Brooklyn-born Dom DeLuise, the roly-poly movie foil to best buddy Burt Reynolds during a comedic career that spanned the last half-century, died Monday in Los Angeles. He was 75. . .

Read more at: New York Daily News

More Blazing Saddles as Obama/McCain Race

In the post below, I used imagery from the Mel Brooks classic Blazing Saddles to make a point about racism in the Barack Obama/John McCain race for the presidency. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made to me. So, I did a search on the Google for "Barack Obama" + "Blazing Saddles." Not surprisingly, there were quite a few hits.

My favorite, was this video, chronicling the race so far by using clips from the movie. It could benefit from some paring down, but just when I would think it had gone on too long, another choice, perfect moment would come along. You have to stick around for the classic Gene Wilder (Joe Biden) line about "people of the earth." And of course, McCain's (Harvey Korman) reorganization of his campaign. And Madeline Kahn/Lily von Schtupp as Hillary Clinton? Brilliant!

I'd love to see this clip tightened up a little, and see it go viral on the web. Very funny stuff.

Julie Brown Takes on Sarah Palin: New Song!

Photo from HX

I've loved Julie Brown (the funny one, not the untalented one) since I was shortly out of high school, which was way-y-y-y back in 1984. Video stores had just started popping up, and they had very little backlog--rentable video tape having just been invented and all. So after I got through every horror and sci-fi movie, I was down to the comedy section.

I found a "Comedy Videos" tape, and discovered The Hitler Rap by Mel Brooks, Where's the Beef? by Ruth Buzzi (a lame attempt to cash in on Wendy's Clara Peller), and The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun by Julie Brown. The last song was the best, and still is very funny (if you remember that school shootings were much more rare in those days, and when they did occur, they weren't rampages). The song is lampooning 50s and 60s "tragedy" songs much more than school shootings.

After that song, Julie had a series of other funny tracks like, Trapped in the Body of a White Girl, I Like 'Em Big and Stupid, Girl Fight Tonight! and my favorite, 'Cause I'm a Blonde. She Incorporated some of these songs into her movie, Earth Girls are Easy, also starring Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Damon Wayons and Jim Carrey. She's been in several (usually short-lived) shows that belong in the category, Brilliant but Cancelled. And she's made me laugh all the way.

Most recently, Julie has taken to making fun of Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. A worthy endeavor by any measure, made better by the fact that she can impersonate Palin's voice and appearance very well. Not bad, considering she's a full decade older than Palin. Below is an audio-only YouTube video (I know, that sounds weird), of Julie's appearance on a recent airing of The Stephanie Miller Show, where she released the premiere of "The Ex-Beauty Queen's Got a Gun/The Girl V.P.'s Got a Gun."

It's very, very funny stuff, but feels a bit like a work in progress. The backing track is from the original song, with some words still audible. And the title needs work. But it's still Julie Brown, and I'll take her any way I can get her!

And here's the original, just for fun. . .

Frivolity Break: Mel Brooks' Hitler Rap

I'm preparing for the big wedding trip to California, so I really don't have a lot of time for the blog tonight. So rather than carpet bomb the site with political posts, I thought I'd give you a fun thing or two to watch. And, if you're new to the site, you might not know that means something fun and weird. . .

This was a music video by Mel Brooks to coincide with his early eighties movie, To Be or Not to Be. As far as I know, it does not appear in the movie. Take a little of the rap song he did for History of the World, Part I (It's Good to be the King), throw in a bit of Springtime for Hitler (from The Producers), and for some reason some porny looking Nazi men and women, and you get The Hitler Rap! Enjoy.