Comedy education was no laughing matter in my household. OK, yes, I suppose by definition it was a laughing matter. But it was also important business.
My parents introduced my older sister and I to comedy legends when we were relatively young. As late elementary schoolers, we became enamored with the Marx Brothers, the original “Pink Panther” movies, early SNL reruns (with heavy emphasis on Gilda Radner and Andy Kaufman bits), Woody Allen (for better or worse), Robin Williams and Richard Pryor. Out of all of them, Mel Brooks was our favorite.
Jokes from Mel Brooks movies and stand-up became refrains in our household. My sister and I would shout “Frau Blücher” at each other, and then the other would have to provide the thunder crack and neighing horses. We’d sing the chorus of “Springtime for Hitler” from “The Producers” or “The Inquisition” from “History of the World, Part I” in unison, like two tiny Broadway showgirls.
But the lines we repeated most often, with help from our dad, came from Brooks’ 2,000-year-old man comedy routine with Carl Reiner. I think that was one of the first pieces of comedy history that he showed us, sitting us down on the couch in our living room to play the records. Obviously, it stuck. Our most well-loved joke was when the 2,000-year-old man talked about the beginning of religion. According to him, before believing in God, he believed in a giant man named Phil. “Oh Philip,” we’d chirp, repeating the 2,000-year-old man’s prayer. “Please don’t take our eyes out and don’t pinch us and don’t hurt us… Amen.”
Then, we’d skip ahead to the part where Phil was struck by lightning, dethroning him. “There’s something bigger than Phil,” we’d say together, mimicking Mel Brooks’ sing-songy affect and bursting into laughter.
Mel Brooks isn’t quite a 2,000-year-old man yet. He’s a spring chicken by comparison — Brooks just turned 99 on June 28. But like his 2,000-year-old man character, it’s clear that he’s not done yet. Mel Brooks has more to say.
Just two years ago, Hulu released “History of the World, Part II,” the mini-series follow-up to Brooks’ “History of the World, Part I.” Brooks served as an executive producer, writer and narrator on the show. Flash forward to three weeks ago and Brooks announced that his 1987 “Star Wars” parody “Spaceballs” is getting a sequel in 2027. In it, he will reprise his role of Schwartz master Yogurt. And just last week, numerous Hollywood trade magazines reported that a prequel series to “Young Frankenstein,” currently titled “Very Young Frankenstein,” is also on its way. Mel Brooks is executive producing this project alongside Taika Waititi and a few other former “What We Do in the Shadows” producers.
So I think it’s safe to say that we are about to enter a Mel Brooks Renaissance.
This is obviously exciting news to me. The reason why I’ve long cherished Mel Brooks is because he is quintessential American Jewish culture. His slapstick and larger-than-life style of comedy is a tangible connection to a dying-out version of New York immigrant Jewishness, the Borscht Belt and Jews of the Vaudeville stage. Brooks became a Hollywood giant not in spite of the Jewish humor exuded in his acts and movies, but exactly because of it. Mel Brooks has only ever made me feel closer to my Jewishness and deeply proud of the Jewish comedic tradition.
I feel a deep tenderness towards Mel Brooks. He feels like the zayde I never had — a zayde who pushed Jewish culture forward into new frontiers. I also feel a deep tenderness for the child I was when I first discovered Mel Brooks. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania in a tiny Jewish community, and watching Mel Brooks movies gave me a sense of the exciting, bustling and more well-established Jewish life that existed elsewhere for me to discover. I’m thrilled at the idea that there will now be more works in the Mel Brooks canon for little Jewish kids to fall in love with.
But I’d be lying if I didn’t also say I feel hesitancy about this new era of Mel Brooks projects. We’re currently in an entertainment climate of churning out reboots and prequels and sequels and adaptions and revivals (as Mel so adeptly points out in the new “Spaceballs” teaser), as opposed to original content. It’s also not a unique thought to say that sequels are rarely as good as the original; but it feels like we’re well past that. It’s not just that sequels, reboots, prequels, etc. are rarely as good as the original — it’s that they consistently feel like cynical money grabs from Hollywood studios with little care towards the audience and source material. It would be beyond crushing to have that happen to “Young Frankenstein” and “Spaceballs.”
That Mel Brooks played an active part in “History of the World, Part II,” and will also with the forthcoming “Spaceballs” sequel and “Young Frankenstein” prequel is an encouraging sign. And the fact that Taika Waititi is on board for “Very Young Frankenstein” is also a boon. Taika Waititi isn’t the new Mel Brooks for the simple reason that he’s the first Taika Waititi. But it’s easy to see Brooks’ influence in Waititi’s absurdism in “Jojo Rabbit,” as well as his performances in “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Our Flag Means Death.” Waititi clearly understands and appreciates Mel Brooks’ brand of humor, and he also has the experience of turning an original movie into a well-loved adaption.
Does this fully account for the fact that few sequels replicate the magic of the original? Of course not. I’ll be the first to admit that while “History of the World, Part II” captured the spirit of the original, it wasn’t without a few dud sketches. I’m sure there will be jokes or moments that fall flat in these new Mel Brooks projects, too. But for now, I’m just grateful we’ve had the treasure that is Mel Brooks for as long as long as we have. Even in the waiting to see what these new projects bring, there’s delightful promise in the fact that one never truly knows what you’ll get with him.
For Brooks, as he oft-repeated in “History of the World, Part I,” it certainly must be good to be the king. But for us, it’s even better to see the king back at work, doing what he does best.
