Mel Brooks, the king of cinematic satire, just crowned the greatest mockumentary of all time, and his pick might surprise you. He says it's so good, he never even dared to try and top it himself! But which film earned such high praise from a comedy legend?
Having carved his name into Hollywood history by hilariously skewering some of cinema’s most beloved genres, from westerns to horror, Mel Brooks is arguably the authority on comedic filmmaking. So, when he weighs in on the best mockumentary ever made, we listen.
Brooks, an EGOT winner (that's someone who's won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award!), dedicated his career to making us laugh. He transitioned from television to the big screen with films like The Producers, which poked fun at both musicals and the lingering trauma of World War II. The Producers not only marked his directorial debut but also earned him an Academy Award for ‘Best Original Screenplay.’ It was clear: Brooks had a gift for finding the funny in just about anything.
This wasn't a one-hit wonder; Brooks continued to satirize genres he genuinely cared about. He wasn’t just making spoofs for the sake of it; he needed to be invested to produce his best work. He loved Westerns, resulting in Blazing Saddles. James Whale's Frankenstein scared him as a child, inspiring Young Frankenstein. His adoration for silent films gave us Silent Movie. He considered Alfred Hitchcock the greatest director, leading to High Anxiety. The sci-fi craze following Star Wars prompted Spaceballs. You get the idea.
But here's where it gets controversial... By the time Brooks revisited parody in the 1990s with Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It, mainstream comedy had shifted. Brooks, in his own words, "felt like a man out of time." Robin Hood found an audience and became a cult favorite, but Dracula was a critical and commercial flop and, notably, the last film he directed. Some critics even suggest the negative reception to Dracula caused Brooks to retreat from directing altogether.
Now, with Spaceballs 2 slated for release in 2027, marking Brooks' return to parody after over three decades, the question arises: were there any missed opportunities? Given his effortless skewering of musicals, noir, westerns, and horror, one might wonder why he never tackled the mockumentary format. It seemed tailor-made for his comedic sensibilities.
"I don’t know why I didn’t," he pondered in an interview, before revealing his reasoning. He believes one film is so exceptional that he could never surpass it: Rob Reiner's This Is Spinal Tap. "That movie’s brilliant," Brooks declared. "So he had ‘crazy documentary’ covered.”
Considering that Reiner is the son of Brooks' close friend of nearly 70 years, Carl Reiner, there's no hint of favoritism in his assessment. It's a sentiment echoed by cinephiles since the film's release in 1984. And this is the part most people miss... This is Spinal Tap isn't just funny; it's a masterclass in comedic timing and character development.
Even if it's not the greatest mockumentary (though many argue it is), it's undoubtedly the most influential. Reiner's timeless portrayal of the hilariously clueless band set the standard for the genre, a template still followed more than four decades later. Think of Best in Show or Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping – they all owe a debt to Spinal Tap.
So, what do you think? Does Mel Brooks have a point, or is there another mockumentary that deserves the crown? Could Brooks have created an even better one if he had tried? And perhaps most importantly, what makes This Is Spinal Tap so enduringly funny? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! We're eager to hear your opinions and spark a lively debate.
