Life Stinks Information

Life Stinks is a 1991 comedy-drama directed by and starring Mel Brooks. It is one of the few Mel Brooks comedies that is not a parody, nor at any time does the film break the fourth wall. It co-stars Lesley Ann Warren, Howard Morris and Jeffrey Tambor. The original music score was composed by John Morris.

Plot

In order to own an entire slum area of Los Angeles so he can tear it down, a callous, rich businessman, Goddard Bolt (Mel Brooks), CEO of Bolt Enterprises, makes a bet with his biggest rival, Vance Crasswell (Jeffrey Tambor), who also has an interest in the property, that he can survive on those streets for 30 days.

There are three conditions: #1) Bolt will be completely penniless; #2) He must wear an electronic anklet that will activate if he leaves the boundaries, forfeiting the bet if he exceeds 30 seconds out of bounds; #3) At no time can he reveal to any of the slum area residents that he is Goddard Bolt. If he succeeds, Bolt will gain the neighborhood for almost nothing.

Crasswell schemes to make Bolt's stay on the streets as bad as can be. Bolt, homeless, hungry and filthy, is befriended by skid-row inhabitants like Sailor (Howard Morris) and Fumes (Theodore Wilson) and given the nickname "Pepto" after falling asleep in a crate with a Pepto-Bismol logo on its side. In the process, he also falls in love with Molly (Lesley Ann Warren), a homeless woman who used to be a dancer on Broadway. During a scuffle with two muggers, Bolt is pushed out of bounds. To prevent his anklet from activating, he charges back in towards the thugs, which impresses Molly with his supposed bravery.

Bolt learns important life lessons during his 'adventure,' unaware that the unscrupulous Crasswell has no intention of honoring their bet, the latter having bribed Bolt's lawyers into fabricating the story that Bolt had lost his mind.

Cast

• Mel Brooks as Goddard Bolt
• Lesley Ann Warren as Molly
• Jeffrey Tambor as Vance Crasswell
• Stuart Pankin as Pritchard
• Howard Morris as Sailor
• Rudy De Luca as J. Paul Getty
• Theodore Wilson as Fumes
• Carmen Filpi as Pops (eleven's up)
• Michael Ensign as Knowles
• Matthew Faison as Stevens
• Billy Barty as Willy
• Brian Thompson as Mean Victor
• Raymond O'Connor as Yo
• Carmine Caridi as Flophouse Owner
• Sammy Shore as Reverend at Wedding
• Frank Roman as Spanish Interpreter
• Christopher Birt as Paramedic
• Robert Ridgely as Craswell's Attorney

Whoopi Goldberg was initially considered for Lesley Ann Warren's role; however, Brooks was uncertain whether he could convincingly play her love interest.

Reception

The film was screened out of competition at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.

In a rare turn of events for a Mel Brooks film, it was both a critical and commercial failure. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 20% of critics gave positive reviews based on 16 reviews. Praise did come from the fact that Brooks attempted a different type of satire rather than rehashing spoofs. The film underperformed at the box office grossing $4,102,526 domestically, under its $13 million budget. It has since gained a cult following for being an experimental film by Brooks, as opposed to his usual parodies.