Dracula: Dead and Loving It

This is an interesting one. From the man who gave us _Young Frankenstein_, we get another classic-horror spoof. Now, I've never been a huge Brooks fan, his humor is too literal for me. His films are like a ninety-minute dad joke - obviously _Spaceballs_ is a masterpiece, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. All that considered, _Dead and Loving It_ is pretty damn entertaining, and not because it's a laugh riot. On the contrary, it's rather dry. No, what makes this good is that it's a mostly straight-forward retelling of the Dracula story; seriously, a few edits and this is one of the best Dracula movies so far. I don't want to make it sound as if the movie is not funny, it is; two scenes had me laughing out loud. However, the performances are played seriously, up to the punchline. I think Brooks made something special here. His more devoted fans might be alienated by this one, but I would totally watch this one again when I am in the mood for a vampire movie with a little added charm.

Mel Brooks delivers another fun monster movie spoof with Dracula: Dead and Loving It. Though mainly a parody of the original 1931 Universal film, there are a few nods to Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula as well as to several Hammer horror films. And of course there’s tons of slapstick and wordplay. Starring Leslie Nielsen, Steven Weber, Peter MacNicol, and Mel Brooks, the film has a solid cast that does a good job at delivering this style of broad comedy. Also, Brooks’ directing captures the look and feel of the monster movie genre fairly well. Still, a lot of the jokes are hit and miss, and the parodies aren’t especially clever. It’s not one of Mel Brooks’ strongest efforts, but Dracula: Dead and Loving It is an entertaining romp that’s good for a few laughs.