I know the AV Club's consensus is "Spaceballs suck balls!", @clarencestickymerkle:disqus - OTOH, the AV Club's consensus is The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret is some kind of work of comic genius.

@disqus_NnwGjc8jni:disqus - are you sure about that recital scene? Because I'd swear I saw it….

I think Harvey Fierstein and Charles Busch would disagree with you, @disqus_qQy1dNgDcS:disqus .

I didn't think Top Secret was that great, honestly, @disqus_hde7I14XwM:disqus.

@dontmindmenowokay:disqus - actually, I kind of find Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall funny. "You Ought to Wear a SIGN!" is a catchphrase in our household whenever somebody does something really stupid - like try to clean out the old screw-in fuse with your finger…?

Actually, @disqus_NnwGjc8jni:disqus - that is a very good point about "subverting the traditional ending", in both Blazing Saddles's and Monty Python and the Holy Grail's cases. I haven't read if Brooks has said anything about it, but I have read John Cleese talking about how "important" it was to Monty Python not to…

@Rmlohner:disqus - thing is, there had been numerous movies about gay people for over a decade by then (some snotty film critic of the time referred to all the "Homosexual movies" that had been released as "the love that wouldn't shut up"!), but outside of major cities they didn't do that well. I remember how shocked…

::GUNSHOT!::

Seriously, interesting choice - James Frain so often gets stuck in "Slimy Villains With a British Accent" roles, that it's nice to see him getting a non-villain character.

@vivalatabularaza:disqus - you forgot the slugline:

I forget who said it, @disqus_NnwGjc8jni:disqus (maybe you?) - but Brooks is a sketch writer at heart, and his movies often don't end as much as they just…stop. He clearly didn't know where else to go with Blazing Saddles - so he literally broke the fourth wall, and staged a Western brawl in the middle of a men's…

Go van - cap-a-valk!

I remember Temperature's Rising, @khalleron:disqus ! The first season starring Little with James Whitmore, Joan Van Ark and Reva Rose, was actually pretty great.

Yes, but Tarantino doesn't care if Spike Lee rises to the bait and makes his movie About That, @disqus_NnwGjc8jni:disqus . More to the point, Harvey Weinstein doesn't care - he figures if Lee keeps snapping at that hook long enough, he can reel him in for a three-picture deal!

Great Merciful Goddess, @avclub-2dd78e6d27abfc8092491a5b76d415fa:disqus ! I took my eight-year old youngest brother to see it with me - and Mom was fine with that.

The Epic Movie folks are probably the reason we have Donald Trump now, @disqus_NnwGjc8jni:disqus .

Wasn't there a magazine cover story about a dozen stars in their Nineties who are still going strong, including Brooks and Dick Van Dyke, @Fancyarcher:disqus ? How did those two never work together, anyway? Especially given Dick Van Dyke was Carl Reiner's muse, essentially…?

David Lynch, meet Mel Brooks - Not What You'd Expect.

No, @avclub-072f76c18f8d7d526bd0d58166eb82ae:disqus - because Pryor turned Wilder soft when they worked together.

Mrs. Doubtfire isn't really all that good, @disqus_NnwGjc8jni:disqus - it's got a few great Robin Willliams bits, Harvey Fierstein during his brief flirtation with Hollywood stardom, and Pierce Brosnan's villainous boyfriend being a Wrong 'Un…why, exactly? Because he has a British accent…? They reduced Sally Field to…