‘Men in Tights’ just plain stinks
One < nnnol help but think of l.o* Alamos while
watt hing the new Mel Brooks film Robin Hood
Men in Tights Not since the Manhattan Projet t
have so many talented people t ome together to
create such a bomb
Men in Tights is nothing more than a museum of
jokes that make Saturday morning cartoons look
like a bastion of original t omit material. Perhaps
he just took all of the jokes that didn't work in his
past films and figured that if he threw more mon
ey at them they would work this time
The story is much the same as the rei ent Rohm
Hood Prince of
Thieves, with a
few changes 111
order to match
the more traditional storv of the green-lighted
a\ enger.
{;,irv l.lwes pins s the lead role as Rohm I loot! an
English gentile man who. though sometimes clum
sily , tries to restore the usurped i rown of Britain
and must battle the evilly neurotii Prince John
(Richard l.ess is| and a had script to do so
The casting of Llvves seems to he some kind of
cruel joke that is supposed to mislead the nudieni e
into believing that this film is on par with the
exi client Princess Pride in which In- played the
main i haracter Elsves. like most ol the i ast. tries
his best to deal with an inept si ript, hut none of
the actors are able to breathe life into this sterile
clas
Lewis turns in the worst performance of the
hunch, mainly !>e< ause of the fai t that the t hurai -
ter is a bad pnrodv ol his act He has proven that he
i an play .1 grc.it neurotii on the nightclub stage as
well as on the small screen, hut he fumbles around
vv 1111 most of his liiu-s m w h.it seems to be a failed
attempt to make them funny.
As an example of how poor and outdated the
writing is. one only has to answer one question
When was the last time you heard the word
Honks used on the silver si reenv When was tin
last time it was funny? Unless sou are a collet tor
of old racial slurs, this movie is not worth your
time
Although Brooks lias Im-cii able to take old jokes
and make them funny in the past, the jokes 111 this
film come so slowly that you c an see them coming
from 10 miles away. and hv !ht* time they are exe
i uteri you may have forgotten the set-up (or per
haps y our mind has hits keel it out through sells
live memory)
Timing seems to lw> the main problem with A fen
m lights, with jokes taking forever to finish them
selves There also is a long waiting period lietween
jokes, so Brooks fills up the time with songs that go
on for too long or i aineos that seem to have no
plat e
Dorn Del.uise makes an appearance that takes
forever to finish and just slows down an already
over-extended him Chances are that Del.uise met
tip with Brooks at .1 party for people who used to
he funny (perhaps at Boh Hope's house) and
reminded lus old pal Mel that no i rummy movie is
complete without 1 rotten impression of Marlin
Brando as the Godfather
If an impression of the t .mllatlier seems out ol
plat i'. then perhaps it is indu atlve o! another flaw
III the movie file siii 1 ess ol the I’nnrrss flmlr
was often bei ause of Hob Reiner's ability to play
with the time peri oil In Mm in lights the atidi
eni e is loo often assaulted witll jokes that have less
to do with Rohm Hood's I ngland than Brooks
Holly wood
The only entertaining parts of Mm in Tights are
ones that poke fun of the awful, hut tin rative,
I’ritu r of I himrs Vet even these jokes are not
worth the prii e of 1 tii ket bei ause you probably
made them yourself as you were walking out the
theater two summers ago
One of the worst parts of the movie, however
was not even on the si reen Many parents seem
to think that this is .1 1 hildren's film and so they
pm k up their little tykes and bring them along
W ho in their right mind thinks of a Mel Brooks
film as a good place to bring kids' I veil when
Brooks is at his In-si he is generally perverse, rude
bigoted and. all in .ill. down-right mean lust
because a film is overtly silly dues not mean that
it s for kids
f inally, d you don't want lu waste six hut ks on
yourself or your kids, I suggest that you put the
rug-rats to tied and rent filming Stnhllrs or Young
f riinkmstrin and save yourself two flours of grief
Pettis’ newest release piercing
Many people find certain
songs tom hing enough to pro
dm e tears I, on the other hand,
have the emotional drive equal
to that of a rock Well, this rex k
happened to lx- tom hed and.
vi's, a lew tears fell — when I
ixigan to listen to Pierce Pettis's
new release Cl lose tht' tluffalo.
The term "modern story
teller" Ixist describes Pettis's tal
ent for song writing. His song
writing, combined with his tal
ent for guitar playing and
singing, allows this album to
c onvey more than beautiful
music
The song "You're Not There"
is a song that anyone can relate
to — it desi ribes the emotions
one feels when a relationship
ends I Will He There" is a
wonderful piece that illustrates
the strong, never-ending bond of
a true friendship
Pierce Pettis was exposed to
many different types of musit
growing up — blue grass,
gospel, rhythm and blues, roi k
n' roll, and country Pettis also
studied music at Florida State
Univesity for a while before lie
began writing musii at the
famous Muscle Shoals Sound
Studios Joan Hae/ and the late
Alex Tay lor were among those
who covered his songs
(.7ifi.sc the Huffnlo features
many talented artists Some of
the artists included on this
album are. drummer Jim keit
ner. David Hidalgo from Los
Folios, John Jorgenson of the
Desert Rose Hand, and key
boardist Hooker I (ones
Pierce Pettis's two former
releases W'htlr thr Sriprnt l.irs
.S'/er/jing and Tmsrltou n were
big tuts among fus fans Chasr
thr Buffalo is the album lhatwill
make him well known to all lis
teners
I found tfiis album intriguing
and was touched by many of the
songs Pettis possesses a power
that clearly comes out in his
ability to write songs Listening
carefully to him. I can find deep
meaning to Ins songs Stick
man" is a story about an indi
vidual with AIDS Ihroughout
dlls song, we see life through
this individual, which shows
the fear and horror this disease
bolds
When this album finished,
this rock was a sponge
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