‘Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man!’ movie review: a thought-provoking insight into comedic genius
There have been countless comedic minds who have tried to emulate the style and humour of Mel Brooks, but with his new documentary film, Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man!, Judd Apatow has attempted to define it, and what he’s found is affirming but occasionally surprising.
Although Apatow is responsible for much of what the current comedy landscape looks like, it’s been a while since he’s delivered on his potential, courting the frequent criticism of being indulgent and overlong with his films, which became particularly stinging when his Knocked Up sequel, This is 40, clocked in at 133 minutes.
However, the larger issue is that subsequent films Trainwreck and The Bubble simply weren’t funny, while on the other hand, the decline of his reign as a fiction filmmaker has revealed him to be a masterful documentarian, particularly when given the chance to analyse other comedians.
Apatow has directed documentary films about Garry Shandling, George Carlin, and Don Rickles, but Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man! is novel because its subject is still alive, and although Brooks has been an icon of comedy since the ‘60s, he’s not lost a step in his old age, recently being involved in musical adaptations of his films, the television version of A History of the World, and the upcoming sequel to Spaceballs. However, the documentary is more focused on the past, and asks the immortal question of ‘how can one guy be so funny?’
While subjects like Carlin and Shandling had tough personal lives affected by addiction and indulgence, Brooks is the rare Hollywood figure whose track record is squeaky clean. He may have faced a few critical disappointments and ruffled some feathers with the more objectionable content of Blazing Saddles, but he is someone that everyone seems to adore. Thankfully, Apatow’s approach to Brooks isn’t one of an adamant fan (even if he is one), but as a fellow artist and friend, and it’s through a casual conversation between the two men that the film paints a powerful portrayal of how the funnyman’s optimism and creativity gave him an unusual drive that made him incomparable.
By syncing up footage of a young Brooks, who would frequently appear on talk shows in the ‘60s, with present conversations, the filmmaker is able to observe how little the man has changed. He’s often willing to self-deprecate and can say something ridiculous with the straightest of faces, and while none of the information that Apatow is uncovering is necessarily ‘new’, it’s fascinating to see how he’s chosen to remember it. In most instances, Brooks used humour as a defence mechanism, which could be for issues as minor as a creative difference on a film, or as significant as the anti-Semitism he faced as a Jewish stand-up.
The art of a great parody, as the protagonist explains, rises out of love, and while he’s known for lampooning some of Hollywood’s most favourite genres, he used his time with Apatow to describe how they were all expressions of his lifelong obsession with filmmaking. Young Frankenstein was born out of his love of James Whale’s monster movies, and A History of the World: Part 1 was made by a “child at heart” who fell in love with stop-motion animation. Other films helped to express his pointed views, such as The Producers, which was a cynical reading of Broadway’s insularity, and Blazing Saddles, a spit in the face of Hollywood’s history of racism.
Apatow is there to provide context, but for the most part, he allows Brooks’ work to speak for itself. Most of the outside commentary from admirers like Conan O’Brien, Adam Sandler, Jimmy Kimmel, and Amy Schumer is completely laudatory and not particularly useful in the grand scheme, so having someone without Brooks’ humility speak was important. Dave Chappelle, who worked with him on Robin Hood: Men in Tights, offered the final word on Blazing Saddles, saying the film couldn’t be made today simply because no one is as funny as Brooks.
The director’s inclination for extended runtimes doesn’t mean that there’s anything in Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old-Man! that’s worth cutting, but it does leave a somewhat haphazard structure, given that the film was divided into two parts when released on HBO. While there were clear demarcation points in his documentaries about Shandling and Carlin, where it made sense to take a break, Brooks’ career didn’t have such a significant midpoint that it could be split into two halves. Nonetheless, even the most naval-gazing aspects of Apatow’s style don’t detract from the sheer delight of Brooks speaking about his memories and expressing optimism about the future of comedy at large. It’s a delight for lifelong fans, but also a great introduction for those unfamiliar with his work.
