I've seen a couple over the years: Robin Hood, Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, and most recently Spaceballs. I found them all funny, theoretically, but they rarely got an open laugh out of me. It seems like most of the time this is just because the comedic timing makes every joke or funny bit land very awkwardly, or with just a bit too much space to leave room for any subtlety or reward for the watcher.
I feel like I remember the few I saw as a kid being funnier at that time. Is it just because my brain has been attention-poisoned with the rapid fire wit of modern comedic television?
I agree about the pacing, which is strange to me, because I much prefer older movies for the most part because they're slower.I just watched Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice from 1969 and the pacing was absolutely fantastic. Modern cinematography is usually too quick for me and there's no room to let the actors really shine and do their thing, especially when you never have more than two of them in one shot for more than a few seconds. But when it comes to Mel Brooks specifically the dialogue just feels very clunky in its timing, and it gives every joke whiplash.
Definitely major fourth wall breaking with him though and I always gotta appreciate that.