Where I Watched It: Hulu

English Audio Description?: No

No matter which film critic you follow, we all have the same problem. Catching up. It’s only getting worse for newer, younger film buffs attempting at becoming film criticism, because their list of films that they need to see is even longer. So, as this was made before i was born, this was on my catch up list. And while I have familiarized myself with the genius of Mel Brooks, it wasn’t this film. Then, hulu decided to do an awful Part 2, and I really needed to see how big the difference actually is.

Night. And. Day.

Of course, one is a movie, and the other is a limited series, but i honestly don’t think Mel Brooks wrote any of the hulu cash grab. he just signed off on it. And I should spend the rest of the time lamenting how Hulu couldn’t be bothered to create an audio description track for the Part 1 of something they chose to make a Part 2. It’s not terribly shocking given Hulu’s apathy toward acquisition of existing audio description, or titles that aren’t “Hulu Originals”, but a company that truly cared either about the new project, or the fact that likely more people will flock to the original, and not just go ahead and make the investment themselves just speaks more than I really need to about Hulu.

But, while Mel Brooks writes a ton of jokes that translate with or without visual cues, he also relies clearly on that parody/slapstick humor that often requires a viewer to actually see what’s happening.

There’s this trap I fell in by doing this whole thing ass backwards. I didn’t like Part 2, because Part 2 is disappointing, and on some other level. however, Part 2 has audio description, and part 1 does not. Part 1 is far superior, has a much better structure, and doesn’t jump all around and feel like it’s a collection of rejected Saturday Night live sketches.

But I’m also here to tell you whether or not as a blind person I felt like i was able to understand the film well enough to grade it, and using the word ‘unwatchable” to define a Mel Brooks film breaks my heart. but the truth is, this is really close. There were jokes that worked, and others where I was sure I missed the joke. With all of that though, I still had a better time watching Part 1 than any episode of Part 2.

So, while it does not have audio description, and was not a fun time, I need to clearly define that this is better than the other thing, even if it might not be Mel’s best.

Final Grade: B+