On H List of Movie Reviews
(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)
High Anxiety (1977)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
2/25
2/25:
High Anxiety is a huge missed opportunity.
Mel Brooks barely scratches the surface when it comes to spoofing Alfred Hitchcock's films. Instead of
one per few minutes, there are four or five parodies in the entire movie from just three sources:
Vertigo, Psycho, and
The Birds. They say Spellbound is
also included, but not really...it's just a humorous take of psychoanalysis in general. Otherwise, a mockery of
Salvador Dalí's dream sequence would've been included.
Not a single cameo appearance from the Master of Suspense? Why switch to somewhere else such as
Blow-Up and Citizen Kane? And there's the
random Bond villain with braces from The Spy Who Loved Me. Hey Mel,
just stick with the Hitchcock stuff...so much potential there. At the same time, I don't think the film has a plot
except for the obvious: the institute is keeping normal patients longer for their money. All it has is a string
of weak sketches.
I didn't realize that Alfred Hitchcock was still alive at the time (he died in 1980). Mel Brooks held a private
screening of High Anxiety for him, and his response afterwards was silence. I'm sure it's a kind translation
for "the movie sucks." At least, there are some funny moments, but they're scattered. Only Cloris Leachman gets
points for giving a wacky performance, and I wonder why Marty Feldman wasn't asked back. By the way, the hotel
used in the film is Hyatt Regency San Francisco.
All in all, High Anxiety is best off being crapped on by birds.