FUNNY MAN Mel Brooks

Film historian McGilligan offers the first full biography of comedy icon Mel Brooks. Narrator Stephen Hoye picks up on McGilligan's snarky tone, delivering the numerous negatives about the mercurial writer/actor/director/producer with admirable objectivity. Brooks, the comedy genius who created YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, BLAZING SADDLES, and THE PRODUCERS, was also a fractious negotiator, a manipulative self-promoter, and a product of his time, when being "PC" wasn't considered important. Brooks's humor was often crude and rude, demeaning women and heavy on fart and fag jokes. Hoye's narration keeps die-hard Brooks fans hoping for some positives about the Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy winner--the "Nice Mel"--but those are few and far between. Perhaps it's better not to know our heroes too well. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2019]