18 Comments
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AJ Singh's avatar

Thank you for the shout out, Aisling!

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Aisling Walsh's avatar

My pleasure!

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LC Sharkey (they/them)'s avatar

You've convinced me - it's time to re-watch Young Frankenstein!

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Aisling Walsh's avatar

This is, at the end of the day, my ultimate goal! 😅

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Alan Doyle's avatar

Another brilliant piece Aisling,

Young Frankenstein one of our favourites to regularly quote… “put the candle back” and of course “Cigars!!”

I first started to follow you from the square peg podcast… thank you for sharing! 🙏

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Aisling Walsh's avatar

Is it the most quotable movie ever??? I'm not sure, but close! Thanks so much for reading Alan, great to have you here!!

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Alan Doyle's avatar

Thank you Aisling, Agree so many bits… Ditto with blazing saddles… Brooks did a send up of Hitchcock movies High Anxiety - I’ll check this one out again see how it reframes in todays world 😆..

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Aisling Walsh's avatar

Might also watch Dracula Dead and Loving it tonight, 'tis the season after all!

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Andrew Sniderman 🕷️'s avatar

Rewatched Young Frankenstein as inspiration for a piece I just wrote! The brain, yikes! I could put that Abby Normal scene on a loop it’s so good. My dad was a big fan and I watched it with him at first and move of the jokes were way over my head. A friend gifted me Mel Brooks book, I read the Young Frankenstein chapter, time for the rest!

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Aisling Walsh's avatar

Oooh that post sounds intriguing! It's a film that just keeps on giving, even 50 years later!

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Andrew Sniderman 🕷️'s avatar

And my wife was also meh about the ending

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Aisling Walsh's avatar

The happily ever after ending?

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Andrew Sniderman 🕷️'s avatar

Right; your point in the 4th footnote

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Aisling Walsh's avatar

Ah yes, a little problematic but willing to forgive Mel this time round as he usually treats his female characters pretty well! Also watching this alongside Madeline Kahn's role in Blazing Saddles makes me feel a little better about what's going on here, but I could be off the mark!

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Andrew Sniderman 🕷️'s avatar

Also Teri Garr was awesome and she died yesterday so all the more reason to celebrate it

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Aisling Walsh's avatar

Omg, I had no idea, what a loss!

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David Perlmutter's avatar

Mel Brooks is one of the most influential creative figures in my life, and this film is one of the reasons for that. He reminds us constantly here that comedy and tragedy are two sides of the same coin, and that it can take only a few changes in context, knowledge and empathy for the picture to change. We start by fearing the monster when he first appears, but we eventually come to appreciate what positive qualities he has...

(Significantly, Brooks was the executive producer of the 1980 David Lynch film "The Elephant Man", dealing with the real-life case of John Merrick; a tragic counterbalance to "Frankenstein" 's comedy).

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Aisling Walsh's avatar

He truly is one of the greats! Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles are two of my all-time favourite movies, and funnily enough they came out the same year! I have not actually seen The Elephant Man but I will check it out for sure!

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