Robin Hood: Men in Tights

Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Runtime: 104 minutes

Directed by: Mel Brooks

Starring: Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, Amy Yasbeck, Roger Rees, and... Dave Chappelle, but don't let that turn you off

From: 20th Century Fox

I wouldn't have minded seeing Cary Elwes as a serious Robin Hood... not just because he speaks w/ an English accent. In short, this was a film I saw as a kid but never again until this morning via Hulu. As others have noted, this in particular spoofs Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves—the film was popular at the time but in modern times, the reception has been mixed. Prince was also seen as a kid but the adult revisit has not occurred as of now. At least he has an accent unlike Costner not even attempting one, and he's more than just a comedic actor.

Then again, I remembered enough where that wasn't an issue-and it's more important that you know the basic Robin Hood lore that this lightly pokes fun at. It follows that story involving “The Sheriff of Rottingham” in this case, Maid Marian, Prince John as the heel, Lil' Jon... excuse me, Little John, the archery contest, etc. Yep, the humor could be incredibly silly at times; Dave Chappelle's character was known as “Achoo”, leading to the expected joke. I was able to separate the art from the artist there, BTW. Also, there were more sex-related puns than I recalled; perhaps I should have, given that one of the moments that stuck in my mind was the crude joke involving Robin & Marian behind the screen, and shadows...

There isn't much nostalgia from me; the rating is mainly due to how often I was amused or laughed. As stated before, comedy is more subjective than other genres; this isn't my favorite Brooks by any means-this is no Blazing Saddles or Spaceballs-but I was still entertained by all the silliness present. There was some humor of its time-I don't mean the jokes that are less “politically correct” today, such as the entire musical number surrounding the “horror” of “manly” men wearing tights—I mean the references to early 90's movies or pop culture in general. Thankfully for me, I'm old enough to recall all those moments.

Robin of Loxley has a family servant who's blind and that was a running joke which worked throughout the entirety; also, a group rap delivers an exposition dump at the beginning and it works also. I was happy to see this again rather than what passes for most modern comedy films these days.