Blazing Saddles (1974)

A classic that has persisted more than 50 years, this send-up of the Western genre is as irreverent today as ever. Only his third film at the time (following The Producers and The Twelve Chairs), and released the same year as Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks was on fire in the 1970s. The plot concerns a dead end little town being appointed its first black sheriff, Bart. He befriends the local drunk held in a jail cell as they plot a way to turn things around for both of them. The details are not as important as the brass balls sense of humor it carries throughout, which honestly feels quaint in some respects. It's a direct reaction to the 1950s, but the social commentary is sharp and never punches down. Most filmmakers wouldn't possess the nuance to attempt such a thing today, so it remains another capsule frozen in time. This is essentially a live-action cartoon, and like Monty Python, contains a holy grail of classic gags.

5 bean-fueled campfire scenes out of 5

Fletch Lives (1989)

Fletch finds himself the sole inheritor of an 80-acre estate in the Deep South, where he promptly quits his job as a journalist in order to retire. From there, he quickly becomes embroiled in a murder plot, the Ku Klux Klan, a televangelist megachurch, and other toxic waste. This 1989 sequel is looked down on for a number of reasons, but it's the strength of Chase's performance that really elevates the whole thing for me. It's diminishing returns, but as long as you go into this knowing it's not as good as its predecessor, you'll have a decent time.

2½ plantation dreams out of 5