BY LEE PFEIFFER

One of Mel Brooks' least-discussed films, the 1991 comedy "Life Stinks", is also one of his most accomplished works. The film didn't click with Brooks's usual audience at the time, perhaps because the film is laced with social commentary. Brooks obviously ignored the old Hollywood advice to "Leave the messages to Western Union". Nonetheless, it's precisely because of this departure from his usual productions that gives "Life Stinks" a certain poignancy that isn't found in his earlier works. Granted, Brooks always included some sentiment in his films (even Zero Mostel's Max Byalystock in "The Producers" is con man with some admirable traits.) However, "Life Stinks" makes a  plea for compassion toward society's most vulnerable people, even as it concentrates on the primary purpose of any Brooks film: to make the audience laugh.  

The movie opens with a very amusing scene in which we are introduced to the central character, billionaire business magnate Goddard Bolt (Brooks) who calls a conference meeting with his team of corporate "yes" men and sniveling team of lawyers. Like Auric Goldfinger unveiling his plan to rob Fort Knox, Bolt uses a large scale model of the worst section of Los Angeles to announce his plans to buy up this property and turn it into a spectacular business compound that resembles a vacation resort. Naturally, it will bear his name and he is unconcerned about the fact that it will displace legions of homeless people who have erected a makeshift "city" on this property. As portrayed by Brooks, Bolt is an intentionally over-the-top egotist who never stops bragging about his accomplishments and who is clearly involved with in a passionate love affair -with himself. (If the film were made today, critics would immediately suspect that the character was based on Donald Trump.) Bolt's plans hit a snafu with the arrival of his arch business nemesis Vance Crasswell (Jeffrey Tambor) who announces that he has managed to already buy up the remaining half of the land that Bolt needs to carry out his dream. Neither man will budge in terms of selling his half of the land to the other so they decide to engage in a bizarre bet. The wager is that Bolt must forego his identity and all of his money and credit cards and attempt to survive as a homeless person within the confines of the geographic boundaries of the disputed land. If he can last 30 days living off his wits, he gets Crasswell's half of the land. If he fails, he cedes his half of the land to Crasswell. The movie chronicles the predictably rude awakening that Bolt gets from the first minute he enters the world of these hopeless souls. This is where the human side of the script kicks in. Bolt, a man who has commanded countless minions as the head of business empire, can't figure out how to even earn enough money to rent a $2.50 a night flop house hotel room. Nor can he come up with a plan for how to get a meal. Alone and destitute, he ultimately befriends some long time street people who pity him and take him under their wings. These include Sailor (Brooks' frequent co-star Howard Morris), a jovial but mentally unbalanced man who knows the ropes when it comes to surviving on the mean streets of L.A. Bolt also encounters Molly (Lesley Ann Warren), a former dancer who has hit on hard times. The fiery-tempered young woman has learned to get by the on streets by using physical violence to protect her "home", which is in reality a motley collection of discarded items gathered in a back alley. 

The film is basically geared for humor and it delivers in spades. There are some laugh-out-loud sequences depicting Bolt and his friends contending with some local bullies. However, Brooks the director scores even more impressively with poignant sequences in which Bolt learns the value of the people around him. He may have billions in the bank but he finds that a free meal in a soup kitchen is worth his fortune. He begins to see the people around him in a different light. When Molly's "home" is destroyed by vandals, it becomes clear that to a homeless person this loss is as devastating as it would be for the average person to lose their house. The film points out how transient people who live in over-sized boxes can have their world demolished by a pounding rainstorm that washes away their shelter. Every day is a battle to survive on the street. Predictably, Bolt and Molly reawaken human elements in each other and a romance blossoms. In one lovely sequence, Bolt and Molly find shelter in a costume warehouse where he convinces her to dress up regally and dance with him. It's a charming scene, the likes of which no other contemporary movie would show for fear of it appearing to corny. The movie is enhanced by composer John Morris's wonderful score. By this point, Morris had composed the music for most of Brooks's films and his contributions are essential elements of each of them. The supporting cast is also terrific with Howard Morris scoring very well as the sympathetic street person who doesn't realize how desperate his plight is. Warren gives a knockout performance that hits all the right notes in terms of pathos and belly laughs. Jeffrey Tambor steals his every scene as a hilarious villain- and the scene in which he and Bolt square off using bulldozers in a monster-like battle is genuinely hilarious. Even famed character actor Billy Barty makes a brief appearance in a scene that is extremely amusing. 

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray features a commentary track by Brooks and screeNwriters Rudy De Luca and Steve Hoberman. The three also appear in a short 2003 documentary about the making of the film. De Luca is another frequent collaborator of Brooks, having not only written scripts for him but also played supporting roles in the films. In "Life Stinks" De Luca appears as a demented man who thinks he is J. Paul Getty. Brooks, who doesn't get overly political in the film itself, uses his interview to say he was inspired to make the movie by dramatic cuts to social services and clinics that had been made by the Reagan administration, to which he attributes the explosive growth of the homeless population in the years that followed. While Brooks and De Luca's hearts are clearly in the right place, they make a politically incorrect faux pas by referring to the homeless people as "bums", which,  to a certain generation was regarded as almost a term of endearment, along with "hobo". Nevertheless, for viewers of a younger generation, the it probably sounds harsh. The Blu-ray release also includes the theatrical trailer. 

"Life Stinks" can be criticized for being predictable and occasionally overly sentimental. It's Brooks' version of a Frank Capra tale. In fact, Capra himself was not immune to criticism about the sentimental nature of his films, with some critics deriding them as "Capra Corn". However, this film represents the kind of comedy studios don't make today in this era of gross-out jokes. It is a celebration of kindness and generosity over greed.  It has well-defined characters and a terrific cast. This "Life" doesn't stink. In fact, it's very much worth living. 

CLICK  HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON