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Rating: Among the many strokes of pure genius put on the field by Mel Brooks, this definitely deserves a unique place. The period is one of maximum creativity, but giving a commercial follow-up to the enormous success of a masterpiece like "Young Frankenstein" is not simple, and Brooks had to play cunningly. First of all, the concept: a silent film. A rather unusual choice, and then a silent film within the silent film, the idea within the idea in a series of mirror-like events that are typical of Brooks' comedy, which we will also find in the hilarious "Spaceballs". In practice, the idea of the film, its development, its plot becomes the movie itself.
Mel Spass, played by Brooks himself, is an alcoholic director in search of ideas to revive his production house on the brink of ruin. He prepares a script for an anachronistically silent movie and, along with his faithful sidekicks Trippa, played by Dom DeLuise, and Bellocchio, portrayed by an exceptional Marty Feldman, he goes to the struggling producer who immediately refuses to invest in such a crazy idea. Then convinced by the director that he could recruit top Hollywood names, the producer gives in and gives carte blanche for the film's realization. The plot, parallel to the idea, now unfolds in contacting actors and making approaches, often through hilarious subterfuges, to convince them to participate in the film. James Caan, Burt Reynolds, Paul Newman, Liza Minelli, are among those who will accept, but not without difficulty. In particular, the persuasion episode of James Caan is sidesplitting, taking place in the actor's trailer during a work break. Among the actors contacted is also the French mime Marcel Marceau, the only one they fail to convince. Here Mel Brooks' genius and taste for paradox come to light, as he makes the only word spoken in the film "No!" uttered by the only actor who normally does not speak in his movies. Problems arise when a group of unscrupulous real estate agents, the company "Swallow and Devour," starts sabotaging Spass' plans because they want to exploit the crisis to get their hands on the lands and buildings owned by the production house. The scoundrels send an attractive young lady, Vilma, to the producer who, pretending to be in love, tries to ruin everything. In reality, the girl truly falls in love and soon becomes part of the support team. The film gets made, the production house is saved, and Mel Spass stops drinking after a hilarious episode where his friends make him swallow a hundred coffees to present the movie in time.
Everything is shot with taste, without coarse moments, the comedy is powerful because it has sharp timing, it is often unique, sometimes it is directly borrowed from silent gags: Buster Keaton in primis. The atmosphere is surreal and at times it feels like watching old super 8 films to which audio has never been added. A successful hit where the characterizations become an integral and indispensable part of the screenplay development. As Brooks usually does, once again he makes us laugh and slips in, between the lines, that bit of critique of the fabricated and negative world of Hollywood filmmaking, among corrupt producers, opportunist actresses, various speculations, actors, and directors always on the edge of crisis. But here the narration is something superior to all, and to hide so many topics in a film whose reading is strongly and directly comedic, well, is not a skill everyone possesses.
Mel Brooks - Silent Movie - 1976
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