The movie “Young Frankenstein” is a spoof of the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. It was brought to the screen by the same director/writer of the movie “Blazing Saddles,” Mel Brooks.
The relationship that the grandson (Gene Wilder) and his famous mad scientist grandfather, Baron Von Frankenstein, have is apparent in the way that the grandson tries to prove that he is nothing like his grandfather. The grandson doesn’t want to be remembered simply for his grandfather’s crazy science experiments. He even goes as far as to pronounce his name different.
The grandson receives news that he has inherited a castle from his grandfather. The grandson decides to visit the castle in Transylvania. When he arrives he meets a hunchback, Igor, a beautiful lab assistant known as Inga, and the housekeeper, Frau Blucher.
He wants to prove that he is nothing like his grandfather but soon he finds that he resembles him in more ways than he likes to believe. One night, he becomes inspired to finish his grandfather’s experiments after discovering his grandfather’s secret library. As the grandson tries to continue his grandfather’s work of reincarnating dead tissue, he encounters the failures and successes of a true scientist. He finally completes his grandfather’s work by creating a monster (Peter Boyle) from a dead body and another human’s brain. The town doesn’t take this easy and begins to threaten the monster and isolate him. Young Frankenstein experiences silly scenarios in which he is challenged to control his monster and to determine what to do with him.
This is a fun-filled comedy that may not be appropriate for children under 13 as it contains some cuss words and sexual innuendoes. Overall, Mel Brooks managed to pull through another award-winning movie with just the right seriousness and witty humor that audiences love. There is a reason why Brooks’ movies remain a classic that any generation can enjoy.