Wilder and Mostel are perfectly bizarre, but there isn't enough Hitler!

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2013)

In some ways, Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel are a conventional comedic duo in the vaudevillian tradition. One is skinny and awkward, the other fat and self-assured. In a typical duo, one would play the straight man caught up in the other's foolish foibles. Mel Brooks' twist is to make both characters fools in their own ways. The crazy schemes mostly come from the bombastic producer (Mostel), but the twitchy and vaguely creepy accountant (Wilder) soon becomes a willing participant. As strange as these lead characters are, both seem almost normal next to the other lunatics in the film: a raving ex-Nazi playwright, a hippie singer nicknamed "LSD," and caricatures of New York theater people. Brooks' brand of comedy (plenty of simple, corny, but funny ideas mixed with risquÃ© and taboo-defying humor) works well for the most part, but as with other Brooks movies a few weak jokes are stretched out too long. As a whole, though, the film actually feels too short, and more catchy tunes from its so-bad-it's-good musical "Springtime for Hitler" would have been welcome.