Spoof Night

What could be more fun than lampooning film genres and classics? Someone like Mel Brooks is a master of this, as demonstrated by classic spoofs such as High Anxiety (a Hitchcock parody) and Young Frankenstein, his affectionate comedy version of the tried-and-tested Frankenstein’s monster theme.

Koolhoven & Simons take us on a tour of the art of the spoof – the genre that expertly skewers and parodies genres, with countless corny, crazy and side-splitting jokes. We’ll be seeing clips from the work of directors such as Rob Reiner (hard rock mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap) and Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, the British-French action film parody with met Simon Pegg).

Of course such an evening wouldn’t be complete without the king of super-silly, politically incorrect slapstick: in Young Frankenstein, Koolhoven & Simons have chosen a shining example of Mel Brooks’ parody perfection. This film was released the same year as Brooks whipped up a storm with Blazing Saddles: a ‘western burlesque’ that cracks (us) up as it turns that genre’s clichés and role patterns upside down.

Young Frankenstein

Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974, 106') is a strikingly stylised comedy with terrific jokes, filmed in black and white. Gene Wilder is fantastic as the grandson of Dr. Viktor von Frankenstein, a man who has involuntarily inherited his grandfather’s passion for medical experimentation. But unlike the old Baron von Frankenstein, young Viktor cares about the welfare of the creature he has created. Marty Feldman ('Igor') is also on top form, Peter Boyle puts in a moving performance as the monster, and the decors and lighting are stunning.