DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT

Come, my friend. Come gather round my crypt and bask in all of the wonderful objects I have in my possession. For instance, I have a pair of broken ear phones you can use as a small skipping rope. Or what about watching this 88 minute movie made in 1995, Directed by and Starring: Mel Brooks; with Leslie Nielsen, Peter MacNicol, Steven Weber, and Lysette Anthony. Well, it couldn't hurt. Could it?


Dracula: Dead and Loving It


THE STORY:

Alright. Own up. Which one of you did it? Which one of you is an actual vampire that's sucking the life out of our lovely Lucy (Lysette Anthony)?

Could it be you, Renfield (Peter MacNicol)? The bug-eating cretin who's recently returned from Transylvania! Or could it be you, Jonathan Harker (Steven Weber)? The buffoonish Brit who need's a bloody good haircut!

What's that? No answer, eh? Oh, dear! Well maybe that silver haired gentleman with those pointed teeth can sort this mess out for us?

Hey! Don't get ahead of yourself, folks. I'm not talking about Dr. Seward (Harvey Korman). He's the silver haired gentleman who asked me -- Abraham Van Helsing (Mel Brooks) -- to look into this matter on his behalf. Of course I'm talking about that other chap instead. Count Dracula (Leslie Nielsen). Who I can't seem to trust at all.  

Yet again, that's most probably why what next transpires rises from the dead, when the un-dead come back to life. As Mina (Amy Yasbeck) has big breasts - a blood-bank reinvests - the good guys put up one hell of a fight - and at the end of the day, the bad-guy finally sees the blinking light.

Sniff-Sniff! Can you smell something burning? Or is that the Matzo?

THE REVIEW:

When is a horror-comedy neither horrific nor comedic? Why yes. That is correct, my friends. It's when the horror-comedy in question none other than 'Dracula: Dead and Loving It'.

Now I do say this with all due respect, don't you know. Cause I'm a big fan of Mister Brooks and the dearly departed Mister Nielsen. Heck, I've followed both of their careers for so long now, I can't even seem to remember when I first begun digging their zany yet funny antics (please excuse the obvious put).

You see, in my eyes, one of the main reasons why I feel this comedy is so off the mark, is mainly because most of its gags and setups come across so dated and obvious in tone. For instance, there are a couple of scenes in this film that are very sketch-like in nature, and don't drive the plot along in any sort of direction. Then there are those jokes that feel too fake or too false to the ear. As if they were created for children or for those people who chuckle at pratfalls or women with big breasts. Plus finally, there are those jape's that... well... just don't work at all. Simple as that really.  

On the reverse side of this, though, the story in itself did actually tell a pretty straight-forward and simple story. Not a great one. Agreed. Yet a tale that was eventually told, nonetheless. Also, I have to mention that both Mel and Leslie didn't do that bad a job at elevating this film on occasion. Giving this somewhat dreadful movie a right good kick up the backside, with the intent of making it more than it essentially was.  

Anyway. That's enough of that for the moment, folks. Here. Please check out these filmic-facts before I start bashing this bug-buster once more. (1) 'Columbia Pictures' first released this $15 million dollar production on the 22nd of December, 1995, and clawed back $10 million dollars at the box office. (2) Most of this movie was shot at 'Culver Studios', 9336 West Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California. (3) Loosely translated, this project was entitled 'Dracula: Dead but Happy' in Argentina; 'Dracula: Dead and Happy' in Estonia; and 'Dracula: Dead but Loving' in Greece. (4) When Mel and the guys first got together to make this movie, one of the first questions asked, was if it should be shot in black and white like Mel did with 'Young Frankenstein'. Collectively, they opted for color. Mainly because most the more successful Dracula films was shot that way. Oops! (5) The actor who played Jonathan Harker in this flick, Steven Weber, didn't know that he was going to be dowsed in gallons of blood during the 'stake through the heart' scene. Mel wanted his reaction to be natural, and it was. (6) As expected, quite a bit of dialogue from the Bela Lugosi version of 'Dracula' was spoofed and repeated throughout numerous sections of this film. (7) After this movie slipped out of its grave, Leslie Nielsen starred in the TV movie, 'Harvey'; Mel Brooks provided a voice for the animation, 'The Prince of Egypt'; and Harvey Korman starred in an episode of 'Ellen'. (8) I'm afraid to say that this horror-comedy was viciously stabbed by the filmic-elite upon its release. 'Rotten Tomatoes' gave it a 9% 'rotten' rating, and both Mel and Leslie were deemed 'not on their A game'.

Overall I'd say 'Dracula: Dead and Loving It', is a film that needs to have a stake through its heart. The jokes where dated. The story was a simple one. The acting was fairly fine. And the only real reason anyone should want to watch it, is because you'll get to see a couple of scenes with Mel and Leslie both acting together.

Nuff said.  

THE RATING: C