Mel Brooks has a real flair for comedy. Not only is he good at slapstick and funny lines, but also at the not so obvious funny stuff. In his spoof, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Brooks brings both obvious and subtle comedy together to fill a familiar story with delightful surprises.

            One of the more subtle pieces of comedy revolves around Prince John, played by Richard Lewis. The Prince is seeking to steal the throne from his cousin King Richard who is away fighting the crusades. The prince, however, in Brooks’ rendition, is not a princely character. Cowardly, bumbling, indecisive, Brooks’ Prince John is a comic exaggeration of the stereotypical corrupt leader.

            Mel Brooks finds a curious way to illustrate this feature of Prince John’s character (or lack of character). In the early scenes, we notice that Prince John has a rather large mole over his lip. Later we see the mole over his lip on the other side of his face. Still later the mole appears on the side of the prince’s face, and eventually back where it started. This movable mole is a constant reminder that this character is a farce. He is not genuine, and neither is his mole. The Prince’s character is so malleable that his facial features change from moment to moment.

            Ironically, this is the classic meaning of the biblical word translated “hypocrite.” In the original Greek, the word had reference to performers and literally means “playing a part.” That’s what Prince John was doing -- playing a part. He was just “pretending” to be king. His movable mole helped to remind us that he was not really who he was pretending to be.

From farce to tragedy

...approximately 1,192 words remaining. You are not logged in. Please see options at the top of this page to view complete sermon.