by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Mel Brooks is one of my favorite directors. Almost everything he’s done has been comedic gold to me. I love Spaceballs because it’s quotable, offers great satire and commentary about a variety of things, and it always makes me literally laugh out loud. I later found out all of Brooks’ movies had these same characteristics. Between The Producers and Blazing Saddles, his filmography shows range, guts, and diversity that not very many directors have. I will fully admit that his recent stuff hasn’t reached the heights of his older works, but work is timeless, even if he wouldn’t be able to make some of his movies the same way he did in their original time.
In preparation for History of the World: Part II, I rewatched History of the World: Part I. It was in a weird time in Brooks’ career between Young Frankenstein and Spaceballs. History of the World: Part I has not exactly aged well, as some of the jokes are disparaging in ways that don’t work today. The concept is unique, though, with its vignette-style stories throughout some of the more prominent moments in history. The promise of Part II has been in the work for years — it’s been 42 years since Part I came out. Props to Brooks for following through and making this happen, even if it was extremely late.
I had several concerns about History of the World: Part II when it was first originally announced in 2021. Brooks’ age was a concern, as he’s getting older and isn’t exactly relevant now. Once I saw that Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, and Ike Berinholtz were in, I was less concerned because I trusted all of them with the sketch style of the original. I trusted Kroll, in particular, because of the success of Kroll Show.
The results for Part II are mixed, just like they were in Part I.
It’s not as offensive as Part I, but not every joke lands. There’s a mix of different comedy styles at play, which is understandable considering four people were involved in writing. Four main sketches show up in multiple episodes. All the sketches overlap the actors, plus a ton of guest starts. I appreciate how each of the stories is told in a different style and that there isn’t a whole lot of retreading with the original movie. Only two sketches from the original make their way to Part II, and they are brief. For instance, the sketch about the Civil War feels the most like the sketches from History of the World: Part I. It’s a silly sketch that starts with Abraham Lincoln (Timothy Simons) telling General Ulysses S. Grant (Barinholtz) that he can’t drink anymore until the war is over. All the side characters are really funny and it’s largely a straightforward story.
The sketch about Shirley Chisholm (Sykes) is told in the style of a 1970s sitcom. Props to the writing team for trying something different and also uniquely telling a story. The Russian Revolution sketch has some social media influence and is close to the silliness we’ve come to expect from Brooks. It also has my favorite cameo, with Rasputin (Johnny Knoxville) doing Jackass-inspired stunts. The story of Jesus (Jay Ellis) has a lot of different styles, like doing a Beatles-themed Behind the Music-style documentary, while also portraying Jesus as someone nimble enough to start in a variety of different genres of movies.
The stories, though, are very scattered, and the structure is a bit of a mess. There are a ton of smaller sketches that they splice in between the four major sketches. I think it could have been a little cleaner had the writers decided to focus one episode on one specific time period instead of what we got, which is a small chunk of the main sketches scattered around three to five episodes to fill in some space. So instead of focusing one episode on one time period, we got chunks of the four main sketches and a few single sketches in between. It just feels really messy, and it could have worked better as a movie instead of a television show.
Curiously, some sketches are only one segment, but I wish they would have told more or received more screen time. A lot of the cold openings are great — the sketch about the Berlin Wall coming down and Alexander Graham Bell (Barinholtz) in particular. They leave a lot on the table that has yet to be explored, which makes me wonder if Part III is in the cards.
You can tell they were trying things with the various sketches and trying to give Kroll, Sykes, and Barinholtz plenty to do. There’s a lot of talent involved with Part II, and a lot of people get to flex their comedic muscles. It has all the hallmarks of a Brooks production, but something feels off about it. Brooks is in his mid-90s, so it’s understandable what his actual role was for the series. Maybe it’s because his’ brand of comedy has to evolve to current audiences, but there are at times when it feels like Brooks wasn’t even involved. At times, it feels like an homage to Brooks, or even a Saturday Night Live impression of his’ original movie, rather than an extension of History of the World: Part I.
I give credit to Brooks for actually following up on History of the World: Part I. There’s a ton of talent and a lot of content. It’s not the cleanest execution, not all the sketches are good, and Brooks’ involvement is questionable at best, but it’s still enjoyable, even though at times it feels a little like Drunk History. I’m glad I watched it, and it makes me wonder if they have enough materials for Part III. Brooks, though, is officially off the hook for the History of the World series, and he can move on to Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money.
Score: 6/10
History of the World: Part II is currently streaming on Hulu
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