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Life Stinks

Play trailer Poster for Life Stinks PG-13 1991 1h 35m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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25% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 45% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Affluent and arrogant businessman Goddard Bolt (Mel Brooks), feuding with rival Vance Crasswell (Jeffrey Tambor) over a land deal, makes a bet with Crasswell that he has the wits and street smarts to live penniless and anonymous on the rough streets of Los Angeles for 30 days. But Bolt has a rude awakening when the reality of homelessness hits him. Still, he finds a silver lining in a burgeoning romance with Molly (Lesley Ann Warren), a former Broadway dancer who has fallen on hard times.
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Life Stinks

Critics Reviews

View All (20) Critics Reviews
Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader It’s materialist comedy in the best sense of the word, and when it leads to slapstick involving Thorazine in an overcrowded hospital, Brooks truly hits his stride. Rated: 2/4 May 24, 2022 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times It may take more skill and intelligence to live without money than to make and spend a great deal of it, and that is the buried message of Life Stinks, a warmhearted new comedy from Mel Brooks. Rated: 3/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle Rated: 2/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins It’s difficult to dismiss the simplicity and sweetness of the ludicrously rich discovering a new perspective on impoverishment - no matter how unlikely and caricaturized it is here. Rated: 7/10 Jul 21, 2024 Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) Supposedly a comedy about humiliation and misery, presented with almost sadistic insensibility. [Full review in Spanish] Jan 4, 2023 Full Review Harriet Waugh The Spectator Lurches from a shocking reality into sentimentality and then to a finale in which it only takes a fairy Goddard to wave his lovely dollar wand and all the derelicts and poor of Los Angeles can live happily ever after in low-cost housing. Jul 19, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member This movie had like 1 or 2 good jokes so that isn’t saying much, but I think it’s still an interesting Mel Brooks movie. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 05/24/24 Full Review Alec B Brooks' heart is in the right place here and while the movie definitely has problems I think it is better than its reputation. Honestly I prefer Brooks trying something new rather than just making another spoof. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/05/24 Full Review Steve D ...so does the film. Not a laugh to be had. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member This story of a rich developer that agrees to live in the slums of Los Angeles for thirty (30) days as part of a bet has many similarities to the Eddie Murphy classic of the 1980's. Simply not as funny. This is not Mel Brooks at his funniest, or best, but there is something here. First of all there is heart in this one. Brooks does something similar to what Trading Places does, and that is finds humanity in all people. Secondly, there are some very funny moments in the movie-just not enough. The characters have a Brooks' flare. I have always said that Mel Brooks' best works are when he collaborated with someone else: Wilder in Young Frankenstein, or Pryor in Blazing Saddles. If you are a fan of Mel Brooks this is an enjoyable time. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member I found this movie while watching a recap. It was surprisingly good. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member There are too many similarities with Trading Places to be a coincidence, but Roger Ebert sees a lineage that goes back further than that. Both movies play with a theme that was the basis of Sullivan's Travels, a movie made in 1941. This is definitely a Mel Brooks movie with the eccentricities that we expect from Brooks. It's funny, enjoyable, but, as with other Brooks' movies, more than unbelievable. While the storyline is familiar, the Mel Brooks touches make it a pleasant journey. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Life Stinks

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Affluent and arrogant businessman Goddard Bolt (Mel Brooks), feuding with rival Vance Crasswell (Jeffrey Tambor) over a land deal, makes a bet with Crasswell that he has the wits and street smarts to live penniless and anonymous on the rough streets of Los Angeles for 30 days. But Bolt has a rude awakening when the reality of homelessness hits him. Still, he finds a silver lining in a burgeoning romance with Molly (Lesley Ann Warren), a former Broadway dancer who has fallen on hard times.
Director
Mel Brooks
Producer
Mel Brooks
Screenwriter
Mel Brooks, Rudy De Luca, Steve Haberman
Production Co
Brooksfilms
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.8M
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Surround
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