"Dracula: Dead & Loving It" *** (out of ****)Mel Brooks takes the bite out of vampire movies in "Dracula: Dead & Loving It" (1995).
"Dracula: Dead & Loving It" turned out to be the final feature-length comedy written and directed by Mel Brooks. By the time "Dracula" was made the public attitude towards Brooks had changed. Once believed to be one of the funniest men making movies, Brooks' best days were behind him. He repeated gags from previous movies. He got by on reputation alone. Audiences didn't flock to see his movies anymore.
Within this context you can see what Brooks was hoping for with "Dracula". Many consider "Young Frankenstein" (1974) to not only be one of Mel Brooks' best movies but one of the funniest comedies of all-time. What if Brooks could strike lightening twice? What if he could do to Dracula what he did to Frankenstein? If nothing else it would serve as a nice companion piece.
Unfortunately "Dracula" didn't restore the Brooks brand. The movie wasn't a comeback. Not that it matters but the box-office was poor and critical reaction was negative. "Dracula" would prove to be a rehash of Brooks jokes from better movies. Even the title of the movie is recycled from one of Brooks' comedies, the television show, "Get Smart", which Brooks was a co-creator of and co-wrote the series pilot. "And loving it" was a catchphrase of the Maxwell Smart character used to emphasis his approval of something. For example, if Smart was told he would be in great danger on a mission, he would respond by saying "and loving it".
It's not a good idea but if we were to compare "Young Frankenstein" and "Dracula" you would see a major difference in the approach to comedy. With "Young Frankenstein", perhaps because of Gene Wilder, more attention was paid to the story. The movie is funny but the jokes naturally arise from the situations and characters. It doesn't feel forced. "Young Frankenstein", like other successful comedy / horror movies, takes the horror part serious and understands you essentially have two movies in one. "Young Frankenstein" treats the Frankenstein background story serious. With "Dracula" the movie throws five jokes a minute at the dart board hoping one will hit the bullseye. Eventually one will hit but you have to sit through a lot of failed attempts. Brooks makes no attempt to show Dracula as a menacing figure. He doesn't create atmosphere.
Mel Brooks is well known for satirizing movie genres, i.e. the western, science-fiction, horror, Hitchcockian suspense, but, with "Dracula" Brooks isn't creating a satire of the horror genre, he is merely making fun of a specific movie. That is the key difference. Brooks has created a cartoon version of Dracula.
That is not necessarily a bad thing. There is something about "Dracula" that makes it worth watching. Yes, its true, this is not a great Brooks comedy. And, yes, it is true this is not a great example of comedy / horror. But, I laugh and smile at the movie. It is silly. It is silly for the sake of being silly. That's an approach that doesn't always work. But when it does, it can really make you laugh. Think "Airplane" (1980) , "The Naked Gun" (1988) or "Scary Movie" (2000).
"Dracula" gets most of its visually cues from the classic 1931 version starring Bela Lugosi and (at the time) the more contemporary version directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1992. In large part Brooks uses these two movies to make his casting choices. For example Brooks, who plays Van Helsing, looks like a lot like Anthony Hopkins take on the character from the Coppola version. Peter MacNicol, who plays Renfield, directly channels Dwight Frye who played the role in the original. Among the cast, it is MacNicol that stands out.
This is an example of something other Mel Brooks comedies are guilty of as well. The audience must have a good understanding of what is being spoofed. You have to be familiar with the 1931 movie and know the famous lines to get the joke in Brooks' movie. When we first see Count Dracula (Leslie Nielsen) in his castle, standing atop of flight of stairs, greeting Renfield, a bat flies pass Dracula, and in typical Brooks fashion, poops next to Dracula's shoe. Dracula tells Renfield, "children of the night. What a mess they make." Funny? Maybe if you knew the original line it might be. In the original Dracula hears a wolf howl and says, "children of the night. What music they make." Funny now? There's also the famous mirror scene in the original version which Brooks magnifies and creates one of the best comedy sequences in the movie. The sequence, like the movie as a whole, is funny on its own but funnier if you know the source of inspiration.
From a narrative standpoint "Dracula" nearly follows the original version exclusively, except for a scene where a vampire is killed by a stake in the heart, which recalls Coppola's version. It is also a stand out comedy sequence.
Renfield arrives by stagecoach to Transylvania where he learns about the legend of Count Dracula, whom he is supposed to visit, regarding a real estate transaction. The villagers believe Dracula is a vampire and beg Renfield not to travel further once the sunsets. That is the time Dracula roams the country side looking for blood. Renfield will not be persuaded and travels on.
Dracula puts a spells on Renfield, turning him into his slave. Together they travel to London, where Dracula has just purchased property. Here he meets Dr. Seward (Harvey Korman, doing a Nigel Bruce impression), his daughter Mina (Amy Yasbeck), her fiance, Jonathan Harker (Steven Weber) and Dr. Seward's ward, Lucy (Lysette Anthony).
Lucy has fallen terribly ill and when two small puncture marks are discovered on her neck, Dr. Seward calls his old friend, Professor Van Helsing, for help. It is Van Helsing's belief, this is the work of a vampire. And so the hunt begins.
It is a well known story that actor Leslie Nielsen began his career appearing in dramatic movies, undoubtedly best known for his roles in "Forbidden Planet" (1956) and "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972) and late in life made a change to comedy, after appearing in "Airplane", which lead to starring in a series of "Naked Gun" movies and other similarly styled comedies such as "Spy Hard" (1996) and "Wrongfully Accused" (1998).
On paper a pairing between Brooks and Nielsen would seem to be comedy gold. Two men with a strong reputation in the spoof genre should have been able to make comedy magic happen. I can't say Nielsen does anything wrong performance wise here. Besides a bad Hungarian accent (why do my people have to be forever associated with vampires?) Nielsen plays Dracula no different than he played Frank Drebin although I sense Nielsen is "winking" more at the camera here. He shows he is in on the joke. Most of the actors do the same. No one is playing it straight, except at times MacNicol, but when playing a character that eats insects, it is hard not to play it broadly.
As he does in other movies, Brooks also throws in references to things unrelated to the genre being spoofed. The Nigel Bruce impression for example. Movie fans will know Bruce as Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes movies of the 40s with Basil Rathbone. Brooks' wife, the late Anne Bancroft, makes a cameo appearance as a gypsy who warns Renfield not to travel to Dracula's castle. Her name in the movie? Madame Ouspenskaya. Why you ask. Because that was the last name of Maria Ouspenskaya who played a gypsy in "The Wolf Man" (1941). Brooks even throws in 1920s pop culture references when a character delivers his lines in the style of the song, "Yes! We Have No Bananas". But, will anyone under 80 years old get these jokes?
"Dracula: Dead & Loving It" was written by Brooks along with Rudy De Luca, who often worked with Brooks, co-writing "Silent Movie" (1976) and "High Anxiety" (1977), and Steve Haberman, who co-write the Brooks comedy, "Life Stinks" (1991). It lacks a lot of big laughs but has enough small laughs that it serves as a guilty pleasure. This is not Brooks at the top of his game but I admire the silly nature of the movie. I saw this movie opening day when I was 12 years old. It really appealed to me back then. That should tell you all you need to know.
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