“Blazing Saddles” (1974)

Most western movies tend to have an extremely serious tone to them, with gun-slinging violence and major chase scenes… chase scenes on horseback that is. However, Mel Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles” is not like most western movies. Yes, it takes place in the wild, wild west, and it includes the 1860’s charm that many westerns do, and the gunslingers and horseback riders are all there but this particular western movie is more of a parodying, humorous ode to the entire western movie genre. The plot of this movie may offend certain viewers living in the modern era of cancel culture, but it was released before social media or even the internet was invented, so it’s good to keep that in mind while watching this film.

Before summarizing “Blazing Saddles,” I’d like to say, it’s an older movie that wouldn’t last more than a day in theaters if it were released today. With that being said, it’s also very funny and one of the most worshiped comedies of all time, and the cast includes Gene Wilder…… so that automatically makes it a great movie.  

The movie’s about a small, innocent town called, “Rockridge,” where people live in harmony… until one day a group of murders and theives try to drive them all out by killing and torchering everybody. This small town realizes they require protection and probably a savior too. So, they write a letter to the mayor (whose played by Mel Brooks) asking for a new sheriff to protect them from any criminals and he immediately gets Hedlly Lamarr (who's his assistant, I guess)  to find somebody to become Rockridge’s new sheriff. You can imagine how it turns out once they find out they’re new sheriff is african-american, considering it’s the 1860’s and in texas. Anyway, once their new sheriff arrives, the whole tone of the movie changes from relatively neutral to hilariously awkward within just five seconds. 

I actually really liked this film because it was funny and it dealt with a lot of serious topics in an extremely satirical way. Mel Brooks, I think… was a comedic genius as far as goofy/spoof films go. Blazing Saddles is probably one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen, maybe even the number one funniest. Just because it’s funny doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good, that just means it did its job by making me laugh… but, that’s not the case with this movie because it actually was good movie, with fast-paced storytelling, good dialogue, a compelling plot and even some breaking of the 4th wall……… which I enjoyed very much. 

If I had to describe this movie in just two words, it would be, “offensively hilarious!” because that’s mainly what it is. No matter how offensive and politically incorrect it was, it’s also hard to not laugh while watching. I think the only problem some people have with satire is that… they don’t realize it’s satire.

I do have one minor complaint however…… There should've been an action-packed train scene towards the end with the common cliche of the protagonist jumping across the train tracks before the train hits them while getting away from all the antagonist’s. When I was younger watching classic westerns, a hefty majority of them had that type of scene included, so I was kind of disappointed that it wasn’t spoofed in “Blazing Saddles.”

My next statement doesn’t really count as a complaint, but I wanted the movie to last longer, because I was expecting some super ridiculous twist-ending leading to more laughs, but that never happened. I was fine with the ending I received though… that’s why I don’t think It’s a complaint, but it was worth mentioning anyway. A great line from the movie is spoken by Gene Wilder’s character (Jimmy, The Kid… A.K.A. The fastest hands in the west) in which he introduces himself by saying…… “Hi, my name’s Jim, but most people call me… Jim.” If this movie had more great one-liners like that I’d appreciate it a little more… but it’s fantastic just the way it was. 

I’m sure most people won’t relate to the characters presented in this movie, mostly because it takes place in the 1860’s and everyone’s racist… so it’d be really problematic if most people could relate to these characters. Even though it’s challenging to like the characters, it’s easy to laugh at them just because they’re all so ridiculous and stupid. Gene Wilder’s and Cleavon Little’s characters are probably the only admirable characters in this whole movie. Normally, a film with such a low amount of morally good characters would be a bad thing… The characters in this movie though are not meant to be loved, rather be laughed at and used as the (very effective) comic relief for the film. 

Basically, this movie is full of hilariously, awfully, bigoted characters that are not likeable at all… but you can find an odd, humorous joy out of viewing them. This is a really good movie but I urge the easily offended to stay away while people with a natural sense of humor watch without hesitation. “Blazing Saddles”  is the best politically incorrect comedy of all time (in my opinion). 

I strongly suggest everybody (with a sense of humor) watches this movie since Mel Brooks is essential to the comedy filmmaking genre. “Blazing Saddles” is not just a simple parody of western movies, it also displays a strong message about how to treat people and how racism has affected society in our everyday lives. When I first saw this movie when I was nine years old it really opened my eyes while also having me laugh the whole way through… Overall, I’d rate “Blazing Saddles,” 9 out of 10