Tuesday, December 19, 2006

DVD Review: The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother

Get Your Nostalgia On


You always hear people talking about “the good old days” – usually referring to something within their childhood, like when movies cost a nickel or sodas were a penny, or when it was safe for kids to talk to strangers.

It’s those same people who usually do the “kids today” sigh. Kids today have no sense of history. Kids today don’t appreciate how good they have it. You know the story.

Last night I took it one step further.

When I was a kid there was something magical about the comedians my parents watched – their peers. I fell in love with all of them for all their different charms. They had something that I don’t see in today’s comic screen talent. Have times changed? Has the audience forsaken the talents of days gone by? Or have we just forgotten what talent really looks like.

It was no masterpiece script I was watching. It was The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother. It wasn't the script that made the movie. It was the acting. It was the comedic timing.

I was laughing at pratfalls and slapstick – things I normally eschew – because of the way they were carried out. I was mesmerized by each performance – because each actor deserved to be on screen, and no one took away from anyone else.

When I was a kid, I was madly in love with Gene Wilder. Not, “He’s so sexy, be my boyfriend” love. I adored him. I wanted to spend time with him. I always felt like I was in on the joke. When I watched him on screen there was always something about his performances that made me feel like he understood my sense of humor. I always wanted to hug him and have him tell me jokes.

I was also madly in love with Madeline Kahn. Her beauty, her wit, her timing, her everything. I wanted to be her. She could be the beauty, the strumpet, or even the over bearing hausfrau that made Barbara Streisand the beauty. She embraced every role – she could sing, dance, act, she was beautiful and funny.


So there I was, watching my childhood loves, laughing hysterically, appreciating them, and Marty Feldman, and Dom DeLuise (oh my god there is not a moment that man is on screen that he does not make me laugh) and it suddenly occurs to me that I cannot remember when I laughed so hard at a movie this ridiculous.

So here’s my challenge to you, dear reader:

Name a comic talent of today and compare them to Gene Wilder in:


  • The Producers

  • Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

  • Blazing Saddles

  • Young Frankenstein

  • Silver Streak


Or to Madeline Kahn in:

  • Blazing Saddles

  • Young Frankenstein

  • History of the World Part I

  • Clue

And tell me you would rather see your guy against my guy in any performance. To quote Sigerson Holmes Consulting Detective, “LIAR!”

Say what you will about The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother - it’s not Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein, but the performances can’t be matched by today’s comedic talent, and that still makes it a better watch than any drivel in the new releases section.

AV Rating: 4/5 Stars

2 Comments:

Blogger Biff Zongo said...

I love this movie! Love it!!

9:24 AM  
Blogger Biff Zongo said...

Gene Wilder did everything right 1968-1976

9:26 AM  

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