Robin Hood: Men In Tights MPAA Rating: PG Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -2

Mel Brooks targets another film genre in this sometimes hilarious, mostly bawdy send-up of the adventures of those guys from Sherwood Forest. This time Robin (Cary Elwes) must save the beautiful maid Marian (Amy Yasbeck) from the clutches of the evil Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Rees) and the King's brother, the angst-ridden Prince John (comedian Richard Lewis). Assisting him are Ah Choo, a black Moor who wears a pair of Nikes; Blinken, the faithful blind family servant; Little John and the merry men of Sherwood forest; and Rabbi Tuchman (Mel Brooks), a travelling "circumcisionist." Prince John enlists Latrine (Tracey Ullman), an ugly hag, and Don Giovanni (Dom DeLuise) to help foil Robin's attempt to get back his land and restore justice to the kingdom. Robin is almost assassinated by a man firing a crossbow from the "Royal Folio Depository." The real highlight of the film is Dom DeLuise's remarkably good Marlon Brando Godfather impersonation. MEN IN TIGHTS is Mel Brooks at his best, satirizing an established theme.

The barrage of one-liners and gags is intense. Unfortunately, some hit "below the belt" as well. Cheap, tasteless laughs are frequent and borderline for a PG film. The blind servant is seen sitting on a toilet "reading" a Playboy magazine for the blind, complete with a braille centerfold photo. Hands reaching through a prison grating respond to a passing guard with an obscene gesture. Marian wears a stainless steel chastity belt, emblazoned with an "Everlast" emblem. Robin's sword, strapped to his waist, throws a suggestive shadow. Language includes five obscenities, and many slang words for breasts and genitals. There is much swordplay and fighting, but it's all in good fun and no one is shown being killed. The shortcomings of the MPAA rating system have never been more evident than when they gave this film a PG rating. Its big laughs are too few, and the language and sexual entendre are too prevalent.

Preview Reviewer: Pete Zimowski
Distributor: 20th Century Fox, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035