Josh Reviews Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! is pure joy from start to finish. This two-part documentary on HBO Max runs close to four hours long in total, and I could have happily continued to watch many more hours!
The film is directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio. I’ve been a fan of Mr. Apatow’s for forever, ever since Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, two brilliant and hilarious cancelled-before-their-time TV shows from around 1999-2001. Mr. Apatow has written and directed a number of fantastic movies (such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People, This is 40, Trainwreck), and he’s been involved behind-the-scenes with so many other comedy classics (such as Anchorman, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Superbad, Pineapple Express, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Bridesmaids, The Big Sick, and so many more). I’ve enjoyed his books (his two Sick in the Head books which are stuffed full with fascinating interviews with an array of comedians, and his recent Comedy Nerd). I’ve enjoyed his forays into stand-up comedy. (His recent schtick at the Golden Globes was by far the funniest moment of the night!) Mr. Apatow directed the extraordinary two-part documentary The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, and he and Mr. Bonfiglio co-directed the every-bit-as-good George Carlin two-part documentary George Carlin: American Dream. (If you are a comedy fan and you have not watched those two documentaries, you must do so immediately!!)
Mr. Apatow and Mr. Bonfliglio have reunited to shine a well-deserved spotlight on another titan of comedy — the incomparable Mel Brooks!!
I cannot remember not knowing and loving Mel Brooks. I think it was Spaceballs (which I saw in the theatres) that made me first fall in love with Mr. Brooks as a kid. Then I went back and discovered The Producers and Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein (all of which hold up today as spectacular comedies), and so much more. I own all of Mr. Brooks and Carl Reiner’s The 2,000 Year Old Man albums. One of my most prized DVD sets in my collection is The Incredible Mel Brooks: An Irresistible Collection of Unhinged Comedy, a multi-disc set that collects a wonderful array of Mr. Brooks’ TV appearances from over the decades. I was lucky enough to have seen The Producers on Broadway with Nathan Lane & Matthew Broderick, and the soundtrack has remained in regular rotation for me in the years since. I read and loved Mr. Brooks’ recent autobiography All About Me. I an a huge Mel Brooks fan!
This documentary was an absolute pleasure to watch. Mr. Apatow & Mr. Bonfiglio were able to find ways to explore the emotion of the many highs and lows Mr. Brooks has experienced in his remarkably long and creative life. I appreciated their efforts to dig beneath the surface of the many well-worn anecdotes Mr. Brooks has told over and over. (It’s funny to watch the moments in the film in which they’ve edited together clips of Mr. Brooks telling the same anecdote, sometimes years apart.) At the same time, the film never gets too schmaltzy or lugubrious. This is a very funny documentary packed full with lots and lots and lots of very funny Mel Brooks clips from throughout his life!
I’m impressed at how well Mr. Apatow & Mr. Bonfiglio and their team were able to curate so many wonderful clips from throughout Mr. Brooks’ career. There are lots of great clips from his movies, of course, which I was happy to see. But I was even happier to see so many incredible clips (many of which I’d never before seen) of Mr. Brook’s vast history of appearances of TV shows of all kinds from over the decades. Mr. Brooks has always been a talker and a storyteller, and it’s tremendous fun getting to see so many clips of Mr. Brooks cracking wise from over the years… and also to hear him talking about his movies and his other projects back when he was working on them (or promoting them).
One of the most wonderful things Mr. Brooks has appeared in, in recent years, was the extraordinary episode of Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, in which we got a peek into Mr. Brook’s regular nighttime ritual of going over to Carl Reiner’s house, to have dinner together (on little TV trays) while they sat together and watched a movie. I thought that was just about the sweetest thing ever. I’m thrilled the doc included clips from that episode, as well as reflections from Mr. Brooks on his life-long friendship with Carl Reiner.
The documentary is anchored by an extensive interview with the now 99 year-old Mel Brooks. It’s incredible to see how vibrant Mr. Brooks still is, even at the extraordinary age of 99 years old!!! Mr. Brooks certainly appears to still be sharp and extremely funny. He’s still a spectacular storyteller. What a treasure and a blessing this project is, to have allowed us to hear so extensively from Mr. Brooks, taking us through the journey of his long life and career. I like how we get to often hear Mr. Apatow, asking questions of Mr. Brooks and giving him gentle pushes to talk about what he was thinking and feeling at different moments in his life. I loved getting to hear Mr. Brooks talk about his love for his late wife, Anne Bancroft, as well as for some of the mentors in his life, like the great Sid Caesar and, of course, the afore-mentioned Carl Reiner.
It’s also great fun to hear from all the other interview subjects Mr. Apatow & Mr. Bonfiglio have assembled. It’s fascinating to hear from Mr. Brooks’ children, giving their insider’s perspective on what he was like as a father. (No surprise, it seems Mr. Brooks was a little hard to live with sometimes.) I loved getting to hear from all the comedians talking about their respect for Mel and his work, including Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, Dave Chapelle, Ben Stiller, Nick Kroll, Amy Schumer. It’s heartbreaking to see the late Rob Reiner, taken from the world so tragically, on screen, talking about his father Carl’s close relationship with Mr. Brooks.
It’s a miracle that the great Mel Brooks is still alive and kicking at age 99! May he continue ever onward! This documentary is a worthy salute to this comedic genius. It’s a must-watch for anyone who loves comedy. I want to watch the whole thing again soon…
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