This is the movie that show us that Mel Brooks has lost the comic genius he became so famous for. The great director of the incredible funny movie THE PRODUCERS, the wonderful YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and the great BLAZING SADDLES has lost it. We saw it all ready with HIGH ANIXIETY, he made up some (but not much) with SPACEBALLS and ruined it all with LIFE STINKS. Perhaps Mr. Brooks is just out of shape? Maybe he hasn't lost the comic genius, he's just fooling us? He's just having a dry period. Anyway, the man can never make a worse movie than this Dracula spoof. He could have called it DRACULA STINKS!
Brooks may not have lost all of his genius. I saw him the other night on television (it was a fresh interview about the Broadway show 'The Producers') and I laughed my head off. The man is really funny, at least when he's interviewed. Can't he make a documentary about someone interviewing him? That would have been a brilliantly funny film.
Ok, Brooks, I'm through with you and I start with Leslie Nielsen whom I've never liked. He was good in AIRPLANE and the first Frank Drebin film, but then he sold out: he started to use his 'talent' in trash like MR. MAGOO, RENT-A-KID and that stupid EXCORSIST spoof. Peter MacNicol is a splendid actor; in 'Ally McBeal' he's terrific, in 'Chicago Hope' he was great and in SOPHIE'S CHOICE he was almost better than Kevin Kline! But in this movie he acts like Pauly Shore! What's wrong?
Bram Stocker's famous vampire story has been filmed many times; the Coppola version (that this movie spoofs the most) was superb and the 1979 version with Klaus Kinski was also darn good. The masterpiece above all Dracula films must be Murnau's 1924 version. DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT is the worst Dracula film ever made.
To end this 'comment': if you loved BLAZING SADDLES or SILENT MOVIE or even SPACEBALLS; don't watch this crap!
(Sorry, Mel, better luck next time!)