...what kind of life those who gave this film bad ratings & reviews live. Probably comfortable, spouting about how this film is tasteless & not funny. Of course-why should they know how being poor/homeless is tragic? Life Stinks was no Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles (which had PLENTY of tasteless jokes, as in when Cleavon Little's character said good morning to an old lady & she responds, "Up yours, ni**er!" but nobody seemed to have a problem with that), Spaceballs, High Anxiety (spoof of Hitchcock films), or To Be Or Not to Be. However, it was a good try at making a comedy that also makes a societal statement & how things can change for the worse in a matter of moments, and it was quite believable because people don't realize what they had until they hit rock bottom. At least he kept it amusing, & Lesley Ann Warren gives an amazing performance as Molly.
If this movie is in bad taste for some, which side promotes the bad taste? The rich a-holes, or the poor & homeless? Tbh, the only bad taste was the one seeping from my mouth when Vance double-crossed "Pepto." If it's the homeless "vagrants" that give those people a bad taste in their mouths, know that it very well could've been someone I love very much who could've ended up like him (sans climax & denouement) if I didn't have the empathy & love in me to take him in, give him a bed and roof to sleep on & under, feed him, & encourage him to go to a doctor due to health problems, he'd be as dead as Sailor, people passing him on the streets as if he's just a piece of garbage on the street. I felt Bolt change poignantly from a greedy businessman to a "real" person in dire straits, and that says a lot. Bolt didn't start out as a particularly generous man & was unabashedly chasing a goldmine, but he learned his lesson quickly. Not particularly easy to do when you've had everything since you were a child & suddenly you have nothing, but he found, luckily, that he did have heart. He became friends with a man who peed on him-I can imagine a guy like Vance kicking the crap out of poor old Sailor, though.
I felt there were very funny bits of comedy, mostly the subtle ones another may not catch, & some good slapstick. Overall I agree with fans who say it's not his best, but to call how the homeless were portrayed as unrealistic tells me none of these people have been to or through any slum sections of large cities. For those reviewers, try walking in the ABC section of NYC or Harlem. I have, and from what I've seen there & in East L. A., the portrayal seems pretty realistic to me.
I say if you're not really a Mel Brooks fan or haven't seen any other of his films and/or you prefer spoofs, skip Life Stinks & watch Young Frankenstein or High Anxiety (great performances by Cloris Leachman and Madeline Kahn {RIP...she was a hilarious comedian. And anyone who thinks Brooks directed films are better without him in them, I suggest watching High Anxiety...the airport scene is hilarious.
All in all this movie makes the mark for me no matter what critics say-they're critics for a reason-they can't make films.
If this movie is in bad taste for some, which side promotes the bad taste? The rich a-holes, or the poor & homeless? Tbh, the only bad taste was the one seeping from my mouth when Vance double-crossed "Pepto." If it's the homeless "vagrants" that give those people a bad taste in their mouths, know that it very well could've been someone I love very much who could've ended up like him (sans climax & denouement) if I didn't have the empathy & love in me to take him in, give him a bed and roof to sleep on & under, feed him, & encourage him to go to a doctor due to health problems, he'd be as dead as Sailor, people passing him on the streets as if he's just a piece of garbage on the street. I felt Bolt change poignantly from a greedy businessman to a "real" person in dire straits, and that says a lot. Bolt didn't start out as a particularly generous man & was unabashedly chasing a goldmine, but he learned his lesson quickly. Not particularly easy to do when you've had everything since you were a child & suddenly you have nothing, but he found, luckily, that he did have heart. He became friends with a man who peed on him-I can imagine a guy like Vance kicking the crap out of poor old Sailor, though.
I felt there were very funny bits of comedy, mostly the subtle ones another may not catch, & some good slapstick. Overall I agree with fans who say it's not his best, but to call how the homeless were portrayed as unrealistic tells me none of these people have been to or through any slum sections of large cities. For those reviewers, try walking in the ABC section of NYC or Harlem. I have, and from what I've seen there & in East L. A., the portrayal seems pretty realistic to me.
I say if you're not really a Mel Brooks fan or haven't seen any other of his films and/or you prefer spoofs, skip Life Stinks & watch Young Frankenstein or High Anxiety (great performances by Cloris Leachman and Madeline Kahn {RIP...she was a hilarious comedian. And anyone who thinks Brooks directed films are better without him in them, I suggest watching High Anxiety...the airport scene is hilarious.
All in all this movie makes the mark for me no matter what critics say-they're critics for a reason-they can't make films.