Good movie but grossly overrated

Fantastic!

Excellent but underrated film

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

The satirical comedy is a real hit or miss genre, more so miss in recent years. When the humor is constant and a mix of ridiculous and witty, we can end up with something brilliant like Airplane! However, some of the modern satirical films that spoof popular films can crash and burn easily because of not having anything funny or original to offer. I have seen most of Mel Brooks' films and knew that I had to see this for number of reasons. I loved Young Frankenstein; it was a brilliant humorous take on the classic Frankenstein film and Gene Wilder is phenomenal in it. I mostly enjoyed other films like Silent Movie and The History of the World Part 1 but there are lapses in comedy in both films. As a matter of fact I'd say Brook's brand of humor isn't always consistent (and somewhat dated) but there are enough laughs to make for a good time.Another reason I had to check out High Anxiety is because Alfred Hitchcock is one of my favorite filmmakers ever and I had to see Brooks' take on some of Hitchcock's most famous work. I definitely enjoyed being able to spot some of the references to Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, and of course, Vertigo. Some of the film's humor may have been funny for an earlier generation. I think the best comedic moments come when Brooks pays his tribute to Hitchcock. The most memorable scene in the film is when the lobby boy 'stabs' Brooks with the newspaper in the shower and the smudged ink of the paper circles the drain (akin to the blood in the shower scene in Psycho). Some of the Hitchcockian references are smart, others feel tacked on. None of it really takes away from experience though.I did enjoy some of the characters and their outrageous natures in the film. Lilloman is a fun character and the moments he and Brooks spend together on the scene bring for a delightful patient-doctor experience. I'd say the best is stiff and pale Nurse Diesel. She plays a memorable villain in her own right, despite the villain being spoofed off of a previous incarnation of something Hitchcock devised. Much like Silent Movie and History of the World Part 1, there are passages in the film that just kind of pass through without really eliciting a response. I guess its dependent on the viewer and their brand of humor, as I'd expect people would react differently to the comedic situations.I'm not the biggest Mel Brooks fan but I have no problem admitting he's an icon in the satirical comedy genre. I don't think this film touches something like Young Frankenstein or The Producers but its a fun little ode to the master of suspenseful cinema. Its dated but enjoyable. Honestly I didn't expect anything more from this film so I am satisfied with what I saw.6.5/10

Mel Brooks takes on Hitchcock movies like "Vertigo" and "Spellbound "with a dash of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" thrown in. This is an excuse to get the whole Brooks' gang dealing with mental institutions and mental illness. Of course, it is utter zaniness as Brooks as the hospital director is in a madhouse (no pun intended). The patients have nothing on the doctors when it comes to outrageous behavior. The problem here is that Brooks never knows when to quit. With really well done comedies like "Young Frankenstein" and "The Producers" we see his genius with good scripting and characters filling out the fabric of the film. Here it's almost anything for a joke, including a casual reference to Jack Benny and highly dramatic music in one scene which turns out to be a concert band going by in a bus. These are fun, but some of the stuff isn't and draws attention outward.

Alfred Hitchcock gets the Mel Brooks treatment here with rapid fire parodies of films like "Psycho", "The Birds", "North by Northwest" and "Vertigo", so if you're a Hitchcock fan there's some amusing stuff here. I thought the Mr. MacGuffin reference was clever but didn't see any other fans pick up on it in their reviews here. Charlie Callas must have been the MacGuffin in this picture, after we see him the first time he doesn't show up again. Harvey Korman makes for an interesting match as Dr. Montague for Cloris Leachman's Nurse Diesel character. Gosh, wasn't she hideous as the nurse from hell? I thought Louise Fletcher was pretty intense as Nurse Ratched in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", but Diesel would have given her a run for the money. As others have noted, Mel Brooks himself might not have been the best choice for Thorndyke, and the parodies are mostly way over the top (The Bird droppings are particularly gross), but it's what you've come to expect from the comic director. It's not his best work, but you can tell the players are having fun. It would have been very cool if Hitch had made a cameo, why didn't anyone think of that?

Dr. Richard Thorndyke (Mel Brooks) suffers from 'High Anxiety' and is the new administrator of the Psycho Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous after the former head dies. Devious Dr. Charles Montague (Harvey Korman) thought that he was going to take over. Charolette Diesel (Cloris Leachman) is the strict disciplinarian head nurse. Dr. Wentworth (Dick Van Patten) thinks there are questionable things going on. Thorndyke discovers some patients are staying too long and paying too much. Wentworth is murdered. While at the American Psychiatric Convention, he is confronted by Victoria Brisbane (Madeline Kahn) who wants to rescue her father who is a patient at the Institute.This is a nice parody of Hitchcock movies. It has a lot of fun satire that Mel Brooks is known for. He's not as wild and crazy of someone like Gene Wilder. However he does give a straighter performance which the others can play off of. Although having Gene Wilder act afraid would have been hilarious but obviously he was busy with his own movie. Brooks is more deadpan. This is definitely in line with the other Mel Brooks parodies. It starts very well taking a page out of Airplane. The movie does fade in the second half. The premise probably wore a little thin for me by then.