"Robin Hood Where is Your King! Do You Mean Larry King?"

            "Sadly, this will not go down as one of Brooks' classics," is movie reviewer Angie Errigo's opinion on Mel Brooks' 1993 film Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Twelve-year-old me would be yelling from the roof-tops that Angie Errigo was a huge liar and that this spoof movie is a classic that could only potential eclipsed by the greatness that is Scary Movie 3. Looking back on the movie as a twenty-one-year-old, my opinion hasn't changed much. The movie is a classic that holds so many great memories of watching this film secretly with my cousins, but admittedly at my current age I do tend to laugh a little less at the Latrine's name originally being "Shithouse". I guess I've grown out of bathroom-related humor. I haven't rewatched this movie in years, but after doing so there are unfortunately bits of this movie that as a college student with a minor in history I tend to roll my eyes more than I laugh at the joke. 

            It's not a stretch to see that there are very little historical accuracies portrayed in the film. But in all fairness accuracy is not something that Mel Brooks really tried to do in many of his films. Robin Hood: Men in Tights was truly created to ride on the coat-tails of a successful movie that had been released only two years previous, Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. From saving Achoo, the son of Asneeze, and his pair of rad Jordans to falling in love with Marian and unlocking the secret to true love, as well as her chastity belt, this movie truly is only meant for comedy. There is no historical truth to be seen. 
           The movie begins with Robin freeing himself from a dungeon after being captured while on crusade, aided by Asneeze, Robin promises to find his son Achoo and take him under his wing. But once back in England, Robin finds the whole country in disrepair due to the misconduct of Prince John, who was left in control while King Richard the Lionheart was on crusade. This is where the age-old story of Robin Hood comes into play, Robin makes it his duty to save his country from the clutches of Prince John, who is being controlled by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Robin recruits s band of merry men to help him in his journey. This includes Blinkin, his blind longtime servant, Little John, who thinks that being called Little is only coincidental to the fact of him being this giant man, and Will Scarlet O'Hara, a master with daggers. It is while on this journey that Robin meets Marian and falls in love, only to find out that the Sheriff of Nottingham also has his eye on her. The rest of the film follows Robin and his merry band of men on their quest to save England and get the girl. *Spoiler* He saves England and gets the girl! Only for the key he thought went to Marian's chastity belt to not work. 
         In the end, this movie could only potentially be used in a history class as an example of what not to believe. This movie is a comedy that just happens to be about Robin Hood and is based in the Middle Ages. As we have covered in class, this movie is full of falsehoods about Medieval Times, things such as chastity belts or a bland clothing palette. It's a fun movie, one that I'm sure most people aren't learning any historical knowledge from, so while I would recommend this film as something everyone should see at least once, I don't think it has any place in our class a discussion piece, outside of making fun at how absurd it is. 

Works Cited
Bennett, Judith M. Medieval Europe: A Short History 11^th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2011. Print.

Errigo, Angie. “Robin Hood: Men In Tights.” Empire, Bauer Media, 1 Jan. 2000, www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/robin-hood-men-tights-review/.

McGlynn, Sean. “The Enduring Legend of Robin Hood.” History Today, vol. 69, no. 4, Apr. 2019, pp. 12–15. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=135190578&site=ehost-live