Today’s quick review: High Anxiety. Dr. Richard Thorndyke (Mel Brooks), a renowned psychiatrist, takes a position as the director of a prestigious mental hospital whose previous director died under suspicious circumstances. As Thorndyke settles into his new job, he risks upsetting the status quo at the institution and incurring the wrath of Nurse Diesel (Cloris Leachman) and Dr. Montague (Harvey Korman), two shady figues linked to the strange events at the hospital.
High Anxiety is a parody of Alfred Hitchchock’s films from Mel Brooks. The plot mimics a psychological thriller quite credibly: an ordinary main character finds himself in a subtly unnerving situation and must get to the bottom of it before he winds up dead. But unlike Hitchcock’s films, High Anxiety is pure comedy, with no real tension and enough humor to offset what little builds up.
The comedy amuses, but it never quite clicks the way Mel Brooks’ best work does. The film’s best sequences are its elaborate parodies of Hitchcock scenes, some of which require quite elaborate setup. The rest of the humor works well enough, even without familiarity with Hitchcock’s movies, but lacks any standout moments.
Watch High Anxiety if you are looking for a bit of Hitchcock-flavored comedy. The thriller skeleton gives the plot a little more credibility than most comedies, but the scene-to-scene comedy saps most of its dramatic potential. Those who come in expecting anything resembling a real thriller will be disappointed, but those looking for a light diversion will appreciate the decision to leave out the suspense.
6.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for an unusually cohesive plot and decent humor, but missing the spark of Brooks at his best.