Life Stinks (1991)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This film is far better than the 5.5 stars it's received here. One thing that stands out from other Mel Brooks films is that it's simply a film in the classic sense, not a parody of a genre or style. It's not a musical or theatrical, although there are some musical moments.Mel Brooks plays a wealthy man screwed over by his associates, and driven into poverty. In this, it has a lot of similarities with Dan Akroyd's character in Trading Places, an earlier hit comedy.There's a palpable second tier somewhat budget look to this film, but that gives it a charm that aligns with it's unusual theme.Where this film really shines is in showcasing for long periods of time, the struggles of being homeless and broke in modern urban America. Brooks illustrates several characters and gives them all charm or humor. The plot is not a wholly original one, but that allows one to relax in a classic way of knowing what's coming. It's updated for the modern-day world, even the film is now 25 years old, it's still relevant today.'Life Stinks' has some very political messages about rampant urban development and the exploitation of the poor and lower middle classes. In this regard, it is highly unusual as a film, especially in that the homeless organize as a force to fight back their oppressors, a somewhat comedic but inspirational ploy of its own. It's a film with rare openly socialist economic tones. However, the message is all delivered with classic Mel Brooks humor.As a comedy, it benefits from the change-up from the previous Brooks films where a concept is hammered home, and you have to get on board or you can't stand the ride. Here, Brooks does less hamming, plays his character, and employs others to do much of the slapstick, while at the same time, creating a strong romantic bond between him and Leslie Ann Warren's character, a homeless woman. She brings a lot to the film, someone down on her luck with real aspirations and hopes for something better. It's a bit hard to buy her as down and out, but she messes up well, and does an excellent job carrying the core of the picture, proving again Brooks knows how to write broad roles for actresses.This film is no dud. It's funny, warm, and, if you've ever been down and out and broke, you'll relate to this picture.

Mel Brooks won't one of my favorite filmmakers but this time he gets to the target in this dramatic comedy and pay tribute to those invisible people who lives in the streets as human remains,scorned by the society and must to be hidden to landscape,people like "Sailor" who bring to character homeless's heart and end up died on the sidewalks of the cities,Mel leave a sublime message to the audience and this critic to society and how says the tittle life stinks!!! Resume: First watch: 1996 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7.5

When you hear or see the name 'Mel Brooks', your mind usually tells you to laugh and think of his spoof comedy work, including 'Blazing Saddles', 'Spaceballs', 'Young Frankenstein', and 'Robin Hood: Men In Tights'. There are many other films that fall into this spoof category that Brooks has made, but back in 1991, Mel wrote, produced, and directed a dramatic movie with comedy elements. It was more of an experimental film for him, as he wanted to explore other genres and make a satire of the class system in America.This movie was called 'Life Stinks', and unfortunately it was met with unfavorable reviews and even worse box office receipts. Don't get me wrong, there are a few slapstick moments, but they don't come often, and is a sidestep from the director's usual line of work. In short though, 'Life Stinks' just doesn't work all that well. The usual funny dialogue Mel writes for his parody films just doesn't fit into this movie, and the way the script is written to make jokes about the homeless people and their families, simply doesn't work. A good example of how to shed light on these subjects was with the film 'Trading Places'.It seems like Mel wanted to make the same movie, but was incapable of producing something of that valor that perfectly mixes comedy and drama, while shedding light on the lower class and homeless people of America. Mel stars as Goddard Bolt, a billionaire businessman who is planning on tearing down all the slums in Los Angeles, only to build high end condos and shops. The catch is that he only owns half of the land. The other half belongs to a man named Vance (Jeffrey Tambor), who doesn't want to sell.Hell-bent on his plan, Bolt makes a bet with Vance that if he can survive for 30 days in the slums on his own without leaving, Vance will sell him his half of the land for super cheap. The bet is on, and Bolt heads to the slums under three rules, including, he has to be penniless, he cannot leave the slums, and he can't tell anyone who he really is. Throughout this 30 days, Bolt learns all the life lessons he never knew, mostly being that being rich and having material things isn't what life is all about. Meanwhile, Vance has a sinister scheme in play that will destroy Bolt.'Life Stinks' could have been a better film if was written and executed in a different way. The slapstick comedy and the intent on trying to bring laughs to issues such as homelessness, just doesn't work with this movie. The dialogue is painfully bad, and the characters are clichés of themselves. That all being said, you have to give Mel Brooks some points for stepping outside his realm to make something different than his usual shtick.

The critics didn't seem to like this film, which is one of the best reasons to like it. I always remember that critics spend their time criticizing -- that is what they do. So many of them are a lot harder on the art of film than they need to be. It's their job.Perhaps those who are less than satisfied with the film were expecting something similar to "Blazing Saddles" "The Producers" and "Young Frankenstein." But "Life Stinks" is a new direction for Brooks. It is a far more thoughtful film, with plenty of social commentary. But it is told in a gentle and humorous way. That having been said, this is a wonderful film. Mel Brooks is hilarious and Leslie Ann Warren is wonderfully paired with him in this film. Long before Wall Street and the greed mongers took so much from average citizens in such a big way -- Mel Brooks understood how to send a message about a very serious issue, using comedy.It's always been very easy for well-heeled and also even average citizens to be repulsed by homeless people and the less fortunate. Anyone who has inherited his or her money or is lucky enough to have always been very well paid for their work will never understand what it means to start from scratch. And that is the point of this film. The story that Brooks tells is told from the viewpoint of the possibility of a filthy rich urban developer who suddenly finds himself out on the streets, in a ghetto, scraping by for his next meal.As Brooks attempts to buy a very large, incredibly poor area of Los Angeles (what a shock), his intention is to tear it down and start all again and make a killing doing it. But what he doesn't bargain for is that a bidding war will entice him to make a bet that he could live for for 30 days by only his wits. The mean streets of L.A. are heavy in every scene, but Brooks manages to still get enough zingers in it to make it comical. Comedy is known as tragedy plus time, but in this case, Brooks adeptly makes the two more congruous than can usually be accomplished. He pulls it off by emulating panhandlers, wiping windshields, dancing and hoping people will put money into his hat - much like the sideshows that still exist all along Venice Beach, even today and probably forever, with legal permits or not.He meets Molly (Lesley Ann Warren), living in an alley furnished as a living room. With her, he is able to add a romantic element to the entire situation. First as friends and then as what would seem unlikely lovers. This film actually features one of the funniest love scenes I've ever seen. Despite what one would think -- Leslie is totally smitten with Mel -- and it is actually believable. It's a testament to her acting, but also indicative of Mel's ability. This is a man, after all, who in real life was able to woo very serous actress, Ann Bancroft. She herself said that he did this by basically stalking her. Today it would be criminal; back then, it was romantic. Apparently, every time they ran into each other, he would say "Where are you going?" She would tell him and then he'd say "Oh! What a coincidence! I'm going there, too!" This finally wore on her and ultimately won her over.The film has some very fine writing -- as well. Brilliant lines like: "They forced me to live in crap, and now they wanna TAKE THE CRAP AWAY?" as he tries to engage a bunch of homeless people being forced out by developers. But then, of course, they all turn away. But Leslie talks sense into them, motivating them to use the media to tell the truth. Brilliant. Just brilliant.All in all, this film has plenty of irony and laughs. Mel does a great job of balancing a rather misplaced optimism along with the harsh street reality. The result is a very entertaining, rather timeless film.