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wazafam · 3 years

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Filmmaker Mel Brooks has had a long career in the movie industry. He became well known for producing and directing comedy movies that parodied famous stories or characters. Fans will recall a more famous movie titled Robin Hood: Men in Tights from 1993. The movie is a hidden gem when it comes to spoof movies.

RELATED: Every Major Robin Hood Movie, Ranked According To IMDb

The storyline for the movie mimicked and made fun of the Robin Hood story, as well as other famous movies like Disney's Robin Hood and Prince of Thieves. The movie gives fans a good laugh but there are some questionable scenarios. Many scenes don't make much sense and are a bit of a head-scratcher.

10 The 'Life Saver'

Throughout the movie, there isn't any real magic to be seen. The only hint of magic is when Latrine (Tracey Ullman) uses a 'lifesaver' on Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Reese). The scene itself doesn't make much sense. The scenario is making fun of the famous mint candy and using it as a magical remedy.

Robin Hood (Cary Elwes) accidentally missed his sword sheath and impales Sheriff all the way through. For many, that type of injury would prove fatal. Latrine promises to save him with a 'lifesaver' that when ingested caused little spark-like magic as she removes the sword. But was it really magic?

9 Robin Never Opened The Box

When Robin returns from the Crusades, his family's trusted servant, Blinkin (Mark Blankfield) hands him a gift. Robin had just learned that his family had died while he was away and his father left him something valuable. The gift is a small metal box said to hold "the greatest treasure in all the land."

Fans of the movie will understand by the end what the greatest treasure was. The perplexing aspect of it all is, Robin never thinks to open the box, not once. The box never makes another appearance in the whole storyline until the very end. What also never made sense is how Robin's father came into possession of the key.

8 The Chasity Belt Debacle

Probably the most confusing yet comical plot element of the movie is Maid Marian's (Amy Yasbeck) chastity belt. Fans are introduced to it when she gets up from her bath. Looking beyond the fact that the belt is made by Everlast, the functionality of the belt is confusing. It seems as though Maid Marian never takes it off.

The chastity belt is an obvious metaphor for Maid Marian's virginity. It does raise the question of how Maid Marian went to the bathroom or bathed. It also implies that sleeping at night wasn't so comfortable. Absolutely no one had a key and by the end of the movie, Robin's key doesn't even open the lock.

7 Physical Events That Can't Actually Happen

Seeing as the movie is a parody, there obviously would be some scenarios that are impossible to see happen in real life. Seeing these scenarios on screen raises some questions. When Robin is imprisoned in Jerusalem, the torturers get a pair of pliers and literally pull out his tongue until it resembles Laffy Taffy.

RELATED: Why Blazing Saddles Is Mel Brooks' Best Spoof (& Why Young Frankenstein Is Second)

The most bizarre and questionable moment is when he actually escapes and must return to England. Robin is in a hurry to get there and his comrade tells him he must catch the tide. Instead of taking a boat, Robin physically swims from Jerusalem to England. The trip is quite literally impossible without suffering hypothermia or dying. The same goes when Little John (Eric Allan Kramer) is scared of drowning in a two-foot-high river.

6 They Moved An Entire Castle

Moving property has never been easier when it can be hitched to a horse and rolled away. After Robin returns to England, he discovers his family's land to have been taken into the possession of Prince John (Richard Lewis). The part that had fans laughing and perplexed is how they take the castle.

The workers hitch the castle foundation to horse and roll it away. They leave behind the inner walls and fans can see the infrastructure of what the castle used to be. The move resembles taking away a TV show set that needs to be changed for a new scenario. Knowing the physical dynamics of moving an entire castle, this doesn't make sense.

5 Lend Me Your Ears!

Robin and his comrades realize that they need to stop Prince John and Rottingham from abusing their power. They band together the best men from various towns to become the Merry Men. At the recruitment meeting, Robin shouts "Lend me your ears!"

Audiences didn't expect the group of men to take off their ears and throw them at Robin. The men took Robin's phrase too literally. The scene also raises the question of how all the men can take off their ears as if it were a piece of jewelry.

4 How Did They Free The Other Prisoners?

When Robin is held prisoner, he gets help from his fellow inmate, Asneeze (Isaac Hayes). Together they use their feet to breaks the metal bar structure that holds their chains. Robin and Asneeze then help free the other prisoners. The fact that they can free the others doesn't make much sense.

Looking carefully at the scene, Robin and Asneeze can open their wrist cuffs with no key and so could the other prisoners. Robin and Asneeze then pull a chain on each side that frees the others. This seems impossible as each pair of prisoners is confined to their own barricade.

3 Prince John's Mole

Prince John isn't the scariest villain to exist. He's actually quite a dud and has no backbone. The movie played a fun gag on the character that doesn't make much sense in reality. Every time Prince John is introduced in a scene, the mole on his face changes location.

RELATED: The 10 Best Sci-Fi Spoof Movies

The mole is one day on his cheek, the next day it's in the middle of his forehead. The idea of a mole moving is plain bizarre. What's even more bizarre is that no one points it out except Rottingham. It gets more kooky as Prince John is shocked to discover he even has a mole. Pricing John must not like mirrors.

2 The Green Tights In Plastic Eggs

In the scene where the Merry Men are gathering their new gear, Ahchoo (Dave Chappelle) is taking green tights out of a white plastic egg. For the newer generations of audience members, this doesn't make much sense. What purpose do green tights have with a plastic egg?

The scene is making fun of the L'eggs Pantyhose & Hosiery company. Back in the '70s, the company had a fun packaging idea seeing as their company name has 'eggs' in it. They would sell their consumers their famous pantyhose in plastic eggs, like the ones used for Easter. The movie parodied the concept and had the Merry Men's tights in a much more exaggerated plastic egg.

1 The Characters Are Aware They're In A Movie

The movie raises some questions on whether or not the characters are 100% aware they're in a movie. Throughout the story, there are fourth-wall breaks addressing the audience or scenarios of movie production. Latrine turns to the audience stating she almost touched Rottingham's package.

When Maiden Marian is bathing, a camera guy accidentally breaks through her window. The most memorable scene is where Robin loses in the archery contest. Perplexed that he actually lost, he whips out his script to double-check. The rest of the characters also check their scripts.

NEXT: Groundhog Day: 10 Things That Don't Make Sense About The Iconic Comedy

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thebroadcastbw-blog · 7 years

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Post-Election Reflection: Why We Do This

Issue No. 20 | November 18, 2016

A LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

You could say this newsletter started because of Mellody Hobson.

Our discovery of her Vanity Fair profile in April 2015 sparked a habit of sending each other stories of women breaking barriers, forging new paths, and generally exuding excellence. After exchanging our fair share of links, we realized that our mental roster of female icons was far too limited — and that the thoughtful profiles and interviews introducing us to new names were far too hard to find.

Looking back through our notes from when the “The Broadcast Biweekly” was just a fledgling enterprise, we’re reminded of why we decided to turn our initial frustration of this shortage into a celebration instead. Women are underrepresented in just about every industry and position of influence, but stories of women who are changing these statistics are perhaps even rarer. By scouring the internet for profiles and interviews that spotlight the exceptions, we want to start conversations about these audacious people and create space for others to join them.

These conversations, and these stories, matter to us now more than ever. To take a line from journalist Adrienne LaFrance, “Women represent about half the global population, and yet they’re dramatically underrepresented in stories meant to help people understand much of the complexity in the world.”

In the face of a President-elect known for insulting, belittling, and sexualizing women, we need a counterweight. We’re choosing to respond, in part, by meeting this destructive and divisive rhetoric with recognition of how women (of all races, sizes, sexualities, nationalities, and beliefs) are contributing to and shaping society. We’ll keep spreading stories about the strength, intelligence, hard work, resilience, and confidence of women we admire. This week includes: model Ashley Graham introducing a Barbie doll whose thighs are finally touching; set designer Hannah Bleacher recruiting more black women in Hollywood; restaurateur Jessica Koslow explaining her undying love for jam. It’s a small thing, but it’s something.

Before we started this newsletter, the women you’d find on our list of role models were somewhat obvious choices — writers, actresses, CEOs. Ask us about our icons today? In addition to famous and influential women beloved by many, we’ll mention a transgender crime scene cleaner, a midwestern pumpkin farmer, and a teenage monster truck driver. The common thread is female ambition, and thanks to this little passion project, we’ve discovered just how many different kinds of doors this ambition can open (or, rather, knock down entirely.)

If anyone knows Mellody Hobson, please send her our thanks.

xx Kate and Maia

WORDS

“Are her thighs touching? HER THIGHS ARE TOUCHING!”

— Ashley Graham commenting on the Barbie version of herself at Glamour’s Women of the Year awards

ART

Champ | Zoe Buckman

READS

"Yes, The Same Woman Dreamed Up The Visuals For Lemonade & Moonlight " | Refinery29 For a production designer with a resume that includes Creed, Beyonce’s Lemonade, and Oscar contender Moonlight, the most critical moment of Hannah Beachler’s career was surprisingly during the filming of a crappy Lifetime television show: "I did the production design for this really tiny horrible show and I was like yeah, I want to do this forever." From there, she toiled away on small indies and horror movies and then Fruitvale Station, where she “immediately clicked” with director Ryan Coogler. It seems no coincidence that Hannah has been involved in creating some of the most important art of the last decade, and she wants more black women to join her: “I’m hoping that maybe I change some minds on the Hollywood side, and also maybe introduce aspiring professionals to this idea as an option. Like hey, everyone! In case you didn't know, there's a really great craft in production design!"

"The Writer Who Was Too Strong To Live" | Deadspin She sounds like a character in a novel: A wild, hard-drinking, hard-living female sportswriter who amazes colleagues and bosses with her skill and stamina. But Jennifer Frey was a real-life whiz kid. She got a top job at the New York Times at age 24, followed by an even more prestigious gig at the Washington Post. She threw epic annual Derby parties and wrote incisive profiles of athletes every other week. She confronted chauvinist baseball players and won. So, what ever happened to Jennifer? Well, for her, drinking wasn’t just a hobby. Dave McKenna has written a deeply reported story about Jennifer, her alcoholism, and how her friends and family were at a loss to save her.

"California Dreaming" | Eater Jessica Koslow has a “jams-to-riches” story. The owner and chef of L.A.’s Sqirl got her start turning California produce into quirky marmalades and jams for a farmer's market stand. Four years later, she’s become the face of modern Californian cuisine. Writer Marian Bull captures Koslow’s charm just as well as she captures the problematic allure of what her ventures represent (“It’s almost vulgar, and I hate how much I adore it, or at least covet it, or at least covet what it’s trying so hard to sell me, which is the idea that I could somehow be a rich happy tan person who never gets melanoma and feels completely satiated after eating a salad.”) That said, you get the sense that Koslow isn’t just trying to capitalize on a trend — she’s genuinely excited about prunes, and wants you to be, too: "These are really delicious foods that are being forgotten about. Those are the things I’m interested in."

"The Life and Example of Gwen Ifill" | The New York Times We had never imagined a world without Gwen Ifill. It just seemed like she would always be here, moderating debates and bringing a sense of joy to stodgy ol’ PBS. So when she passed away this week, it was an unexpected blow. And for columnist David Brooks, it was also personal, since Gwen was a close friend. (The kind of friend who emails you, out of the blue, to say: “For some reason you have been on my mind. Are you well?”) He writes beautifully about what she brought to the world, as a friend, as an advocate, and as a journalist. This is a loss that will be felt by many, for a long time.

"The Blues Superstar Who Created A Gay Nightlife Scene 100 Years Ahead Of Its Time" | BUST “Before her time” couldn’t be more of an understatement when it comes to the life of Gladys Bentley. She left home at 16 and made her way to Harlem in 1923, playing at parties and small clubs until a friend mentioned a notable club was looking for a pianist. The only problem? They wanted a boy — to which Bentley responded: “There’s no better time for them to start using a girl.” By 1930, she was a bona fide star known for her risque lyrics, pounding piano, and gender-bending signature white tuxedo. This profile chronicles her rise to fame, the backlash of a world that didn’t know what to do with her loud, proud self, and her sudden embrace of societal norms at the end of her life. We could read an entire book about Gladys.

Read a story about a woman who should be our first female president? Email us at [email protected]

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