Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) is a parody of the story of Robin Hood, particularly parodying Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Other Robin Hood films, such as The Adventures of Robin Hood and Disney's Robin Hood, are also parodied.
It was directed by Mel Brooks and stars Cary Elwes in the
title role. The film is reminiscent of Brooks's 1975 Robin Hood based
sitcom When Things Were
Rotten.
The film also does minor parodies and references on previous Mel Brooks films, modern-day jokes, and other popular films and
people.
Plot
Introduction
A group of villagers are being subjected to the fiery arrows of Robin Hood's Merry Men. Angry and upset that their village is
burned down during every Robin Hood film, they yell at Mel Brooks to leave them alone. A group of rappers then proceed to tell
the tale of Robin.
Return to England
Robin Hood (Cary Elwes) is captured during the Crusades
and is imprisoned at Khalil Prison in Jerusalem. With the help of fellow inmate
Asneeze (Isaac Hayes), he escapes from the prison, and frees all the other inmates. He is
asked by Asneeze to find his son, Ahchoo (Dave Chappelle, in his first major role). Robin
then swims from Jerusalem to the Atlantic and then to England, where he lands near Hollywood-esque letterings spelling
E-N-G-L-A-N-D.
Problems Back at Home
When he arrives, he discovers that Prince John (Richard Lewis) has assumed
control over England while King Richard (Patrick Stewart) is away fighting in the
Crusades and, unbeknownst to Richard, John is abusing his power. He finds out from his family's blind servant Blinkin
(Mark Blankfield) that his parents died, his brothers died of the Plague, his dog was run over by
a cart, his goldfish was eaten by the cat, the cat choked on the goldfish and that his family's castle has been taken by Prince
John because of their failure to pay backtaxes. However, Robin's dad left him a necklace, which holds the key to the greatest
treasure in all the land. The two leave to search for the treasure.
Enemies and Allies
After Robin makes a fool of the Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Rees) who has an embarrassing
habit of mixing up words, he decides he must help free England from Prince John's tyranny. He meets the large and ignorant Little
John (Eric Allan Kramer) who can't swim in six inches of water, and his friend Will
Scarlet O'Hara (Matthew Porretta), who is an amazing and cocky fighter. Prince John is warned by
his cook Latrine (Tracey Ullman) to beware of Robin.
Robin also attracts the attention of the lovely Maid Marian (Amy Yasbeck), who wants to
find the man who has the key to her heart - and her Everlast chastity belt. After he
trashes the dinner party Prince John throws, Robin decides to build an army to fight him back. The villagers are idiots at their
best, and are barely worthy of wearing their tights (could not fire an arrow, got knocked down by dummy riders, ect). They are
helped by the crass Jewish Rabbi Tuckman (played by Mel Brooks
himself).
The Tournament
While Robin is training his army, the Sheriff of Rottingham hires Don Giovanni, an Italian mobster, to take Robin out at the Spring Festival Archery Tournament. Maid Marian hears of the evil plot, and
sneaks out of her castle to warn Robin, accompanied by her grumbly German maid Broomhilde. Robin
and Marian confirm their affections, and Broomhilde refuses to let them kiss unless Robin proposes, much to the chagrin of the
two.
Robin goes to the archery tournament, and makes it to the final round. After hitting the center of the bullseye, he unmasks
himself, but the Don's archer splits his arrow in two. After everyone consults the script for Robin Hood: Men in Tights,
Robin takes another shot with a special, apparently guided arrow which makes several passes around the field with the sound of a
rocket engine before blowing up the other arrow which was in the bullseye. The name, Patriot Arrow, is an obvious pun on the
Patriot missile system. He is arrested, and Marian gives her body to the Sheriff in
exchange for Robin's life.
A Wedding and/or a Hanging
Whilst a hangman debates which size noose to use on Robin, the Abbot comes out of
the castle to marry Marian and Rottingham. Before she can say "I Do", the castle is attacked by the Men in Tights, led by Little
John, Achoo, Blinkin, and Will. While a battle ensues, Marian is carried off to the tower by the Sheriff, who wants to "deflower"
her. However, he has to remove her chastity belt, which he tries to do with a jackhammer.
Robin enters the chamber, and the two have an intense swordfight (and, in one part, a shadow-puppet fight). The Sheriff breaks
Robin Hood's necklace, which is really the key to Maid Marian's chastity belt. By accident, Robin runs the Sheriff through, but
he is revived by his admirer Latrine, and he is forced to marry her. Robin and Maid Marian attempt to consummate, but Broomhilde
arrived, insisting they get married first. Before Rabbi Tuckman can complete the ceremony, they are interrupted.
The Return of the King
It is King Richard (played by Patrick Stewart),
who has returned from the Crusades. He shames his little brother, and says that all toilets shall now be called johns in
shame for his brother. He also knights Robin before kissing Marian, as is his right, during which, Rabbi Tuckman states a line
from one of Brooks' old movies (History of the World, Part I): "It's good
to be the king!". After the ceremony, Robin makes Achoo the new Sheriff, to the surprise of the entire community. Achoo reminds
them that a black sheriff worked in Blazing Saddles, and everyone agrees.
The Robin Hood Rappers reappear, and say the story is done. Robin attempts to turn the key, but it gets stuck in the chastity
belt. He calls for a locksmith to help the very angry Marian.
Characters
Robin Hood
Robin Hood, played by Cary Elwes. His character makes
a specific reference of Kevin Costner's character in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves when Robin says that "Unlike some other Robin Hoods, I
can speak with an English accent," which mocks Costner's obvious American accent in the aforementioned film (Elwes is English).
The joke is modified in translated versions of the film so as to make the connection to Costner more obvious. In German, it was
changed to "Because I, unlike some other Robin Hoods, do not cost the producers 5 million" while in Italian and French versions
"Because unlike other Robin Hoods, I do not dance with the wolves", referring to another Costner movie Dances with Wolves.
Maid Marian
Maid Marian, played by Amy Yasbeck, is the chaste
object of Robin's desire. The film puts heavy emphasis on her virginity ("the greatest treasure in all the land") and her strong
desire to lose it, which is a parody of the usual Marian character in other films, who, while sexually desirable, is mainly
focused on finding love, not lust. To further emphasize this struggle for her virginity loss, she wears an Everlast marked chastity belt, much to the frustration of the
Sheriff and Robin.
In the script required that Maid Marian was "blond, British, and buxom". Amy wore a wig, faked a British accent, stuffed a
huge bra, and won the part.
Rabbi Tuckman
Rabbi Tuckman, played by Mel Brooks, is the Jewish portrayal of the familiar
character Friar Tuck and is the purveyor of sacramental wine and mohel extraordinaire.
Tuckman keeps up with Mel Brooks' fondness for jokes relating to Judaism. Tuckman's few scenes in the movie revolve around circumcision
jokes. Upon meeting Robin for the first time, he offers to circumcise the Merry Men and, for the wedding scene at the end of the
film, he has to finish a circumcision before performing the wedding ceremony.
Tuckman also delivers the familiar Brooks line "It's good to be the king" as King
Richard exercises his right to kiss the bride at the end of the film. This line had previously been used in Brooks' film
History of the World Part I and later in the stage adaptation of
Brooks' The Producers, where it is stated in the song "The King of
Broadway" by a blind violinist.
Sherriff of Rottingham
Sheriff of Rottingham, played by Roger Rees, is Robin's main rival for Maid
Marian's hand, even to the point of blackmailing her into marrying him to save Robin from hanging. His name is a pun on the name
of the character Sheriff of Nottingham, present in all Robin Hood legends. The Sheriff of Rottingham has a speech impediment which causes him to rearrange all the
words in a sentence when frustrated, which elicits confusion from everyone, including his own men. His given first name, Mervin,
is also poked fun at during the wedding to Maid Marian. The Sheriff, despite his obvious attraction to Maid Marian, is sexually
pursued by another character, the ugly witch Latrine, played by Tracey Ullman, though her
desirability is questionable at best. She later saves his life in return for his agreeing to marry her, and he winds up
regretting his decision.
Prince John
Prince John, played by Richard
Lewis, is the usurper of the throne. Though he plays a British monarch, Lewis
has a heavy New York Jewish accent. In the Italian version,
he has a Roman accent. John is a constant worrier, due mainly to his stealing the throne from his brother Richard. This is shown
when he asks the Sheriff of Rottingham to tell him bad news in a good way so as to make it less stressful. John also reuses a
previous Mel Brooks joke as his mole constantly changes position on his face, just as Igor's
hump constantly changed sides in Young Frankenstein. The Sheriff of Rottingham
points this out to him, to which John responds incredulously, "I have a mole?" The same way as in Young Frankenstein, when Dr. Frankenstein points out to Igor that he is a surgeon and he can
remove his hump if he wishes, Igor asks, "What hump?"
Don Giovanni & Men
-
- "I am thanking you... for inviting us... on the day of your daughter's wedding. I pray that your first child... be a
masculine child." The Don Giovanni tells him: "Shut up, will you? We didn't even have a meeting yet."
- Dirty Ezio, played by Joe Dimmick [1] who had his tongue cut out by one of the Don's enemies, is named after
Dirty Harry; since this is the time of Robin Hood, he uses a crossbow instead of a Magnum. In addition, "Ezio" is taken from
Ezio Greggio, who is an Italian actor, film director, and friend of Mel Brooks.
The Young Lad
The Young Lad's (Corbin Allred) scene of slapping his hands onto his face and
screaming is a reference to the movie Home Alone, which featured a scene of
Macaulay Culkin in the same pose and on the ad campaign. The Young Lad also mentions
that he needs to go "home alone" after Robin saves him. He then runs off screaming. Robin then remarks, "What an unusual
child."
The Merry Men
Little John
Little John, played by Eric Allan
Kramer. He is portrayed as being good-natured, if a bit thick. In the scene he meets Robin, he challenges him to a stick
fight where their sticks keep breaking until they each have stubs of sticks. Little John ends up being pushed into a very tiny
creek where he shouts "Help help me, I can't swim". He and Broomhilde seem to form a relationship.
Will Scarlet O'Hara
Will Scarlet O'Hara, played by Matthew Porretta. His name is a combination of
Will Scarlet, of Robin Hood legend, and Scarlett
O'Hara, the heroine of Gone with the Wind. He's from Georgia,
and whenever he puts up his daggers, he cuts his belt.
Blinkin
Blinkin, played by Mark Blankfield. A parody of a similar character in
Robin and Marian and Robin
Hood Prince of Thieves, who was also blinded. When the Merry Men burst into Prince John's banquet to assist Robin,
Blinkin shouts, "Hoowah!!" This is a reference to Lt. Col. Frank Slade in Scent of a
Woman, who is blind. Blinkin's blindness is often used to comical effect, such as during his reunion with Robin, when
he rushes to embrace Robin, but passes him completely and instead embraces an armless statue of Venus de Milo. He immediately laments the loss of "Robin's" arms in the Crusades, and comments on his
apparent acquisition of new breasts, until Robin says, "Blinkin, I'm over here!" In another scene, Blinkin is up in a lookout
platform, and accidentally falls off. He gets back up and realizes that he can see again, and promptly turns and slams right into
a tree. He stops and suddenly says, "No, I was wrong." Finally, when Robin names Ahchoo the new Sheriff, Blinkin blurts out,
"He's black?!" Also, when Ahchoo asks Blinkin to hold the horse for him he says "hey Blinkin!", which is wrongly interpreted and
results in the answer "did you just say Abe Lincoln?" Blinkin has an incredibly powerful
sense of hearing as he was able to hear and catch a crossbow bolt that had been fired at Robin, though seconds later when he is
complimented on such a feat he turns and says "Pardon? Who's talking?". Blinkin also holds the key to Marian's chastity belt,
which he gives to Robin upon his return to Loxley Castle.
Ahchoo
Ahchoo, played by Dave Chappelle in his feature film debut. Ahchoo is a parody
of Azeem, Morgan Freeman's character in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Ahchoo's jokes focus on stereotypes of American black
men. When he's being beaten by the Sheriff of Rottingham's men, he asks if it's being videotaped, a reference to the
Rodney King beatings in Los Angeles. He
then says, in the midst of a fight,"I am running out of air!" and pumps up his Reebok pumps.
Also, when Ahchoo is appointed the new Sheriff of Rottingham, everyone gasps, "A black sheriff?!", to which Ahchoo responds, "Why
not? It worked in Blazing Saddles", another Brooks film (Chappelle delivers the
line in a canny impersonation of Cleavon Little's voice). In another scene, Ahchoo quotes
Malcolm X, the radical black leader, in an attempt to rouse the Merry Men to action. The scene
where Robin Hood attempts to jump on his high horse but falls, and Ahchoo says "Man, white men can't jump!", is a reference to
the film White Men Can't Jump. After the Merry Men are formed and costumed,
he wears his hat backwards, revealing a baseball cap-like adjuster. Another joke is his name where, three times in the movie, his
name is said and whoever is spoken to replies "Bless you!". And when he is introduced to
Blinkin', mistaking "Ahchoo" as "a Jew?!".
Mel Brooks films
There are also several other references to previous Brooks films, in addition to those already mentioned above.
- The musical number, "Men in Tights", recycles the tune used for the musical number, "Jews in Space", from the film
History of the World: Part I. Also used is a joke in which the film
refers to its own sequel, in the reprise to the "Robin Hood Rap". This had previously been used by Brooks in History of the World: Part I and Spaceballs.
Another recycled joke is the "Walk this way" gag, here delivered by the Sheriff of Rottingham. This had previously been used in
The Producers, Young
Frankenstein and History of the World: Part I. Also, when
the Sheriff and his men arrive and confront Robin for the first time, his men make trumpet-like sounds with their hands. The
melody is very similar to that of the title theme to History of the World, Part
I.
- After Robin apparently loses the archery contest, he remarks that he's not supposed to lose. He produces a copy of the script
from behind his back, and comes to the conclusion that he indeed gets another shot. Others in the film, most notably Prince John
and the Sheriff, also check their scripts, and admit that, according to what's written, Robin does indeed get another shot. This
is slightly similar to Spaceballs, when the villains can't think of what to do next,
and decide to consult the home video version of Spaceballs, which has surprisingly already been released and is contained
within the movie collection onboard.
- A camera breaks a window in the same manner as a memorable scene from High
Anxiety.
- After King Richard kisses Maid Marian, Mel Brooks exclaims, "It's Good to be the King!", a phrase used in History of the World: Part I.by King Louis numerous times.
Robin Hood appearances
As it happens, several of the people involved with the film were involved in other Robin
Hood productions.
Other Mel Brooks collaborations
More Referencing
Real people
- A wedding guest shouts out, "Hey, Abbot!" in an imitation of Lou Costello to
Dick Van Patten's Abbott character. This is a gag based on comedians Abbott and Costello, where Costello's catchphrase was "Hey, Abbott!", in reference to
Bud Abbott. Van Patten's Abbot would then turn to the camera and say, "I HATE that
guy!".
- The sounds made by Robin Hood and Achoo while fighting the Sheriff of Rottingham's men in the beginning of the movie
(Claiming to use Praying Mantis Kung-Fu techniques) are a reference to the high-pitched
sounds made by Bruce Lee in his Kung-Fu
flicks.
Brands
- While forming his band of merry men, the supply line for the clothes and weapons distributed to the men includes a table full
of large plastic eggs containing pantyhose, a clear reference to the L’eggs brand of pantyhose, owned by Hanes, itself owned by the
Sara Lee Corporation.
- Then while instructing the men how to joust, the targets are mannequins on horseback whose
heads are constructed of various anachronistic large food cans, including such brands as
Campbell's soup and V8.
- Ahchoo's shoes and the scene where he pauses a fight to pump air into them are modern references to the 1980s-early 90s
popularity of the air pumped shoes, famous for their pump technology, which were marketed by competitors Reebok (The Pump) and Nike (The Air
Pressure). The small button on the shoes' tongue was the air pump and when pressing it (which Ahchoo is seen doing), the shoes
would inflate internally, causing the shoes to fit tighter to the feet.
- Marian's chastity belt is made by Everlast.
- After Maid Marian overhears the plans to kill Robin, she turns on the light in her room by clapping, which is a reference to
the 1980s-90s device of The Clapper, owned by Joseph
Enterprises.
- Robin's castle gets taken away by a realtor from H.M.R Blockhead, a company reference to H&R Block. This is also a joke, as normally, any English acronym beginning with H.M. means "His" or
"Her Majesty's". Thus, H.M.R. Blockhead stands for "His Majesty's Royal Blockhead"!
- 20th Century Fox itself is also parodied in this film when Robin's friends decide
to send a fox into the village (with a message for the villagers asking for their help--a pun on the fax
machine). The box the fox is introduced in reads the words, "12th-Century Fox".
- Immediately before Prince John's party, a man can be seen securing his horse with The
Club.
- The "magic pill" Latrine uses to save the Sheriff of Rottingham's life at the end of the final fight scene appears to be a
mint lifesaver (note the pun lifesaver), (similar to the UK Polo).
Heraldry
- The men of Prince John wear coats which bear the arms of kingdom of Castile and
Leon
- The thrones of Prince John and Rottingham in the archery contest are decorated with France
modern (three fleurs-de-lis)
- King Richard wears quartered arms of England and France,
adopted by Edward III
- When the Sheriff demands that knights "surround the great hall," in order to defend against Robin, two lines of
full-armour-clad knights run out from a common doorway and entirely surround the room, but do nothing but stand in line and
literally surround the great hall. They go so far as to stand on each step of the staircase. In the next frame, though,
approximately five of these knights are cornering Robin's men.
- When Robin sees that the hall is surrounded, and his band has been effectively cornered, he grabs a rope and swings down
towards the exit to the hall, knocking over an armoured knight, which produces a domino-effect, causing the ring of knights
surrounding the great hall to topple one by one. Previously, Robin attempts to cut a rope which will cause a chandelair to fall
on his assailants, but he cuts the wrong rope, and another chandelair falls on himself. When he is at the top of the staircase
ready to swing down on a rope, he pulls on the rope, remarking, "Right rope." A green-lit "EXIT" sign can be seen above the
doorway behind him before he swings down.
Historical
- The plan to kill Robin was to have Filthy Luca engage Robin in an archery contest while Dirty Ezio is to kill him by firing a
crossbow from a nearby tower. The room in the tower is shown to be called the Royal Folio Depository, a reference to
Texas School Book Depository, from where Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy. However, as the
arrow is about to hit Robin, Blinkin miraculously catches the arrow in mid-air, exclaiming that he "heard it coming from a mile
away!" Robin then proceeds to attempt to beat Filthy Luca's dead-center bull's-eye shot with a Patriot arrow, a clear reference to the U.S. military's anti-ballistic missiles popularly used, among
other things, to shoot down Iraqi SCUD missiles during the Persian Gulf War.
Judaism
There are numerous references to Judaism, as there are in all Mel Brooks' films:
- There is the very prominent Rabbi Tuckman, who is both a rabbi and a ritual circumscisor.
- When Robin drops the wild pig on the table in front of Prince John, John remarks, "traif", a reference to the pig not being a kosher animal.
- After being served his breakfast omelet by the Latrine, Prince John remarks how "this reminds of me of a seder at Vincent Price's house."
- When Robin introduces Ahchoo to Blinkin, Blinkin mistakes Ahchoo's name as "A Jew," and says, "A Jew? Here?". Robin then says
"Not a Jew. Ahchoo."
- Rabbi Tuckman comments on how good a match Maid Marion of Bagelle and Robin of Loxley would be ("Loxley and Bagelle - you
can't miss!"). This is a reference to a bagel and lox, a
stereotypical Jewish food.
Sports
- During the archery contest, when it is established that Robin gets another shot, a man in the stands rallies the crowd to
support Robin by giving him "The Chop," a clear reference to the "tomahawk chop" motion made
during the war chant by fans of the Atlanta Braves, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Florida State
Seminoles.
- When Robin's Patriot Arrow travels under the crowd's seats, this causes everyone to successively stand up and raise their
arms. The motion created by the crowd is a reference to an audience wave, which occurs at
sporting events.
Meta-references
More than once, the film adopted the device of breaking the fourth wall and
meta-reference, but in a sly manner that can also be interpreted as the characters only
jokingly pretending they're on a film set. The most notable examples include:
- The scene where we first meet Maid Marion. While she is singing in the bathtub, a camera smashing through the window before
quickly pulling back.
- During the archery contest. The moment it looks as if Robin has lost the contest, Robin, John, and the sheriff all whip out
scripts of the movie -- which are clearly labeled 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights.'
- The final fight scene between Robin and the sheriff. During their sword fight, Robin pierces the sandwich of an off-screen
behind the scenes crew member. The crewman takes his sandwich back and the fight resumes.
Trivia
- The scene where Latrine tries to get the Sheriff of Rottingham to sleep with her was entirely improvised by Tracey Ullman (Latrine) and Roger Rees (Sheriff).
- Despite being portrayed as a sickeningly old woman, Tracey Ullman (who plays Latrine)
was born in 1959, while Roger Rees (who plays Sheriff, someone
meant to be much younger than Latrine) was born in 1944, making her fifteen years younger than
Rees.
- In the scene where Robin Hood meets Asneeze in the prison dungeon, Asneeze appears to be wearing a gold wristwatch underneath
his shackles.
- When the knights surrounding the great hall begin their domino-effect collapse, the knights near the exit door to the hall
can be seen falling while bending at their necks, waists and knees. However, as the ring of knights ascends the staircase and
proceeds around the perimeter of the room, the knights can be seen falling down without any bending of their joints, because
empty armour suits were used.
- The necklace that Robin's father gave to him came open while Robin was putting it on, revealing the key to Marian's chastity
belt ("The greatest treasure in all the land").
- When Marian sneaks out of the castle, she jumps onto a horse in a way similar to the way Buttercup does at the end of
The Princess Bride, another movie in which Elwes starred as a roguish outlaw (The
Dread Pirate Roberts).
Technical data
See also
External links
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