Mr Mel Brooks - and the Winner is?

[Hauldren Collider]

I have to agree with TEF here. Mel Brooks = gold

[Drake Tungsten]

Then again, I doubt you know the names of any of the dudes you get railed by.

Why would I want to? Rough, anonymous sex...

Mel Brooks' movies...

[Berzerker]

Rick Moranis was great in Spaceballs

[The Emperor Fabulous]

Then again, I doubt you know the names of any of the dudes you get railed by.

Why would I want to? Rough, anonymous sex...

[Zevico]

The fact that they're ranking Mel Brooks movies at all epitomizes Polytubbies' complete and utter lack of taste and good sense. Thinking Borscht Belt comedy is funny is forty years out of date...

And on that note...

NEW YORK—Saying he could no longer stand idly by while a vital part of American culture is lost forever, activist and Broadway producer Mel Brooks has founded a private nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the word "schmuck."

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An emotional Brooks stopped short of kvetching at a schmuck fundraiser Monday."Schmuck is dying," a sober Brooks said during a 2,000-person rally held in his hometown of Williamsburg, Brooklyn Monday. "For many of us, saying 'schmuck' is a way of life. Yet when I walk down the street and see people behaving in foolish, pathetic, or otherwise schmucky ways, I hear only the words '*****' and 'douche bag.' I just shake my head and think, 'I don't want to live in a world like this.'"

The nonprofit, Schmucks For Schmuck, has compiled schmuck-related data from the past 80 years and conducted its own independent research on contemporary "schmuck" usage. According to Brooks, the statistics are frightening: Utterances of the word "schmuck" have declined every year since its peak in 1951, and in 2006, the word was spoken a mere 28 times—17 of these times by Brooks himself. The study indicates that today, when faced with a situation in which one can use a targeted or self-deprecating insult to convey a general feeling of disgust, people are 50 times more likely to use the word "jerk" than "schmuck," 100 times more likely to use "dick," and 15,000 times more likely to use "****ing *******."

Perhaps more startling, only 23 percent of men know what schmuck means, and only 1.2 percent of these men are under the age of 78. If such trends continue, Brooks estimates that by 2011, such lesser-used terms as "imbecile," "dummy," "schlub," and "contemptible ne'er-do-well" will all surpass schmuck, which is projected to completely disappear by the year 2020 or whenever Brooks dies.

"We must save this word!" Brooks said to thunderous applause as those in attendance began chanting "Schmuck! Schmuck! Schmuck!" "How will we be able to charmingly describe someone who acts in an inappropriate manner? Especially given the tragic loss of the word 'schmegeggie' in 2001. So I urge you: Tonight, when you get home, please, call up your family, your friends, your loved ones, and tell them they're a bunch of schmucks."

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Hundreds turned out at a Boca Raton, FL demonstration to show their support for the dying word."I've never told anyone this before," Brooks added, choking back tears, "but my father was a schmuck."

The foundation has already raised more than $20 million, thanks to donations from supporters such as Jackie Mason, Albert Brooks, the Schtupp Institute, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), and the Henny Youngman Endowment for the Preservation of Schmekel. The money will go toward projects aimed at reintegrating "schmuck" into the English lexicon, including billboards and flyers plastered with the word "schmuck," the upcoming 5K Schlep for Schmuck Awareness, and a new Mel Brooks film.

"The world cannot afford to lose this valuable and versatile word," Brooks told reporters during a charity auction in Manhattan's Upper West Side Tuesday, where attendees bid for the chance to have a private lunch with Brooks and repeatedly call him a schmuck. "You can be a poor schmuck, a lazy schmuck, a dumb schmuck, or just a plain old schmuck. A group of people can be collectively referred to as schmucks. You can call someone a schmuck, and you can be called a schmuck. You can even call yourself a schmuck."

"Plus, it's just so fun to say," Brooks added. "Schmuck."

Many of the foundation's volunteers say they share Brooks' passion for the word "schmuck," as well as his outrage that it is slowly disappearing from everyday use. They claim that if they do not act now, the trend could create a snowball effect.

"Today it's schmuck, tomorrow it might be toochis," said SFS volunteer Harry Steinbergmann, 82. "What's next, schlemiel? Putz? Schlimazel?"

Steinbergmann went on to classify this scenario as farcockteh.

Brooks will be appearing at Brooklyn's Francis Scott Key Junior High on Nov. 12 to give an informal lecture about his experiences using the word "schmuck," and build grassroots support among a key group of young Americans by explaining that "schmuck" is a Yiddish term for the foreskin on the head of a penis. In addition, he has hinted at the possibility of a reunion with longtime comedy partner Gene Wilder, during which the two will call each other schmucks

[The Emperor Fabulous]

I have to agree with TEF here. Mel Brooks = gold

You'll find we probably agree on a lot - I'm much calmer and more rational than I used to be. Just not on everything.

But I respect anyone who likes good movies, no matter their political persuasion.

I had a guy try to convince me why American Pie was a better movie than American Beauty. Oh, and that the only reason I liked American Beauty was because you get to see two girls naked. It took a lot for me not to die laughing.

[Drake Tungsten]

American Pie is a better movie than American Beauty. Nobody even remembers what happened in American Beauty now, but Stiffler will live forever.

[The Emperor Fabulous]

[Ecofarm]

I need to rewatch History of the World, but Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles are not only not as good as Spaceballs, they are outright just pretty bad. Sure there are a few good gags in them, but you have to sit through all sorts of other crap. Spaceballs is pure hilarious awesomeness.

I need to rewatch Men in Tights too, but I don't remember it being anywhere close to Spaceballs either.

No wonder you advocate child rights. You are one. Someday you'll grow up and see more.

American Pie is a better movie than American Beauty. Nobody even remembers what happened in American Beauty now, but Stiffler will live forever.

Stop trolling.

[Drake Tungsten]

American Beauty: most overrated film of the 90's?

Stop trolling.

I'm not trolling. American Beauty is the worst kind of superficially deep Hollywood Oscar bait. It sucks.

[Ecofarm]

Ok, agnsty. AB is a film.

Juno?

[The Emperor Fabulous]

Brooks did a film called "To Be Or Not To Be", a comedy about Polish Jews escaping Warsaw. He was just an actor, but its a pretty decent movie, and much different than the stuff he created. Its a little dated, but still worth checking out.

[Drake Tungsten]

Kate Winslet Finally Able to Tell Sam Mendes that American Beauty Was Way Overrated

“Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet has split from her film director husband Sam Mendes, a British law firm said Monday.The 34-year-old star separated from Mendes at an unspecified point earlier this year, Shillings law firm said. It wasn’t clear whether divorce proceedings have begun.”

Apparently, Winslet just couldn’t be happier, now that’s she is “no longer sharing a closet with the man who made the most overrated freakin’ film ever.” It turns out that Winslet was no big fan of American Beauty, which she said was “Exactly what arty British people think they know about American suburbs. You know, just a second-rate snob’s vision of the lives of people who–the poor, dumb bastards–actually eat fast food. I mean, c’mon. Think of the people who believe American Beauty is, like, deep. They’re inevitably deluded theatre majors.”

http://www.wincingwiththestars.com/2010/03/15/kate-winslet-finally-able-to-tell-sam-mendes-that-american-beauty-was-way-overrated/

Weren't you a theater major, TEF?

[The Emperor Fabulous]

American Beauty: most overrated film of the 90's?

Stop trolling.

I'm not trolling. American Beauty is the worst kind of superficially deep Hollywood Oscar bait. It sucks.

I can accept that opinion. I heavily disagree, but I get that. Some people just don't like drama.

If you have an issue with Kevin Spacey's performance though, you're out of your mind.

[Ecofarm]

Wait, a Hollywood actress thinks art is overrated? So surprised.