Plot: What’s it about?
When looking at the films of Mel Brooks, I’ve often thought that to be in one of his movies you’ve got to be a bit…off. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it just seems that the actors and actresses who have graced his films haven’t been your typical Hollywood folk. I mean, Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Harvey Korman and the craziest one of them all – Madeline Kahn. Without a doubt, Brooks’ two most recognizable films, both commercially and critically, are Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. Oddly enough, they both came out in 1974. That’s not to say that it was all downhill from there, I’d probably put History of the World: Part I in my Top 20 and Spaceballs has nearly as big a following as the movie it lampooned. That said, as Brooks moved into the 1990’s, it wasn’t all critical acclaim. 1991’s Life Stinks wasn’t one of his best works and after watching it for the first time in decades, I realize how dated it was. To date myself, that’s the year I graduated from high school. Yeah, so I guess I just did date myself. Nevertheless, does Brooks still have the midas touch or should he have left well enough alone?
Goddard Bolt (Mel Brooks) has a nice life. He owns a good portion of Beverly Hills and has a vision to take some low income areas and turn it into “Bolt Center.” But one of Bolt’s business rivals, Vance Crasswell (Jeffery Tambor) happens to own a section of and that would eventually become “Bolt Center” and it’s down to a mexican standoff. But the two make a wager in that Crasswell feels that Bolt wouldn’t be able to survive for 30 days in the land that he so desperately wants. Bolt agrees to this bet, leaving behind his contacts, money and any and all accouterments of home. If he manages to survive, the land is his. And, of course, should he fail then the section owned by Bolt becomes Crasswell’s. As we might expect, the usual pratfalls are shown and it just might happen that Bolt ends up being a better person for “lowering” himself via this deal.
It became clear to me, very early on, that this is essentially a take off one of my favorite films – Trading Places. While not a cookie cutter version of that movie, the same theme is in place. Brooks has starred in some of his films, most notably in History of the World: Part I, but this is pretty much all him. Nothing against Brooks as an actor, he’s not bad, but his casting in previous films has been better. Lesley Ann Warren plays the female lead and aided by a talented supporting cast (Jeffrey Tambor and Stuart Pankin), the film has a some solid ground to stand on. Again, this isn’t one of the jewels in Brooks’ crown, but it’s not something that should be totally dismissed, either. Still, it’s nice to see this movie see the light of day on Blu-ray.
Video: How’s it look?
I mentioned above how “dated” this film looks and it’s not just the outfits that the characters are wearing. Consider that this came out about the same time that Terminator 2: Judgment Day did and then compare the two. Granted that film had a slightly bigger budget and a man named Cameron behind it, but still…Having said that, the 1.85:1 AVC HD image looks fairly good, certainly better than it did on DVD and colors look brighter and more “colorful” if that’s the best terminology. And if not, then judge for yourself. There’s a bit more grain that I’d have liked to see, but given the nature of the film and the stock, it’s to be expected. Life Stinks doesn’t exactly stink on Blu-ray in terms of image quality, but there’s something left to be desired.
Audio: How’s it sound?
A DTS HD Master Audio track is included and it’s nothing that will shake the room. This is, by and large, a dialogue-driven comedy that rarely tests the limits of the speakers. Vocals are clear and clean, Brooks’ voice is sometimes a bit gravelly, but it sounds pure here. There aren’t a lot of ambient sound effects to speak of and I highly doubt that anyone watching this film will really judge this audio track too harshly. It’s passable and does the job – simple as that.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Try as I might, I was unable to find a DVD review of this film, but I have to assume that these features came from somewhere. Nevertheless…
- Audio Commentary – Brooks, along with Co-Writer and Star Rudy De Luca and Steve Haberman actually provide a nice commentary track. They tell of the origin of the film, why they wanted to make it and some other tidbits. It’s a surprisingly informative track, as are most of Brooks’.
- Does Life Really Stink? – A “vintage” featurette in that it’s window boxed and dated. I have no idea how old it is, but based on how old (or young) Brooks looks, I’d say it came out around the time the film did or maybe a few years later. Still, it’s a 14 minute feature with Habermas, De Luca and Brooks that detail the film, its central theme and a few behind the scenes clips.
- Theatrical Trailer – Presented in 1.85:1, the original, grainy theatrical trailer that essentially gives away the entire movie.
The Bottom Line
Life Stinks won’t (and hasn’t) gone down as one of Mel Brooks best films. That said, it was somewhat of a political statement of the late 80’s/early 90’s and a jab at the Reagan economy of that time. It’s not exactly the social commentary that other films are, but there’s a message in the film. The Blu-ray looks good, not great but good, and sounds decent as well. The commentary is a welcome addition and fans should be happy with this release. Certainly there are other more attractive Mel Brooks films out there, but for those that like this one – Kino has done a fine job.
