puerile, boring and unamusing this one was. Quite literally we kept waiting for the funny parts. Hello? Funny? We're still waaaaaaiiiiiting. We loved Young Frankenstein, Space Balls, Blazing Saddles..., but trust me this one ain't nothing' like it.

Perhaps one has to be drunk or smoking weed to find this stinker remotely funny, but such pharmeceutical aids would also render all the reruns of "Charles in Charge" and "Who's the Boss" funny as well, and that's no small accomplishment.

Except for the "artsy fartsy," self-described (and thus clearly vastly delusional) "art critics/cinematrophy majors" and/or drunk/disorderly types who are both easily amused and/or easily belligerent, I cannot imagine how anyone over the age of TEN years of age who could tolerate the first 20 minutes of this stinker before shutting it off in disgust.

dracula...you have to love that guy and his chicken

If you are expecting the level of humor and parody ala YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, forget it! What a stinker. A total waste of time.

While not nearly as clever, parodic, or satirical as his cinematic masterpiece YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974), Mel Brooks' 1995 entry DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT is nonetheless a humorous spoof of the classic Dracula films that horror fans will likely regard as a worthy companion piece to the comedy director's magnum opus.

The structure of the tight, well-written script for DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT primarily borrows from that of the classic Universal flick of 1931 that made Bela Lugosi a star, but it also takes lots of playful jabs at Francis Ford Coppola's grandiose 1992 interpretation of Bram Stoker's classic novel and manages a poke or two at the Hammer Studios flicks, starring Christopher Lee as the eponymous count, that were popular in the 1960s and early 1970s. Fans of the horror genre or vampire sub-genre are likely to enjoy this film more than a general audience, as it requires that esoteric inside knowledge to "get" many of the film's funniest jokes.

The casting of deadpan comedic actor Leslie Nielsen as Dracula is a master-stroke, as Nielson's interpretation of a clueless count generates numerous laughs totally independent of the script's laugh lines, yet his performance also greatly enhances the scripted jokes. Also delightfully wonderful is Peter MacNichol's portrayal of the insect-ingesting Renfield. MacNichol does a seemingly dead-on (excuse the pun) impersonation of Dwight Frye's manic performance in the classic 1931 film, yet he also manages to adeptly parody Frye at the same time. It's a performance that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Director Brooks himself delivers a few good belly laughs in the role of vampire hunter Van Helsing, Steven Weber (of TV's WINGS) is stupendously stoic in the role of Jonathan Harker, and Amy Yasbeck and Lysette Anthony round out the talented cast with their own combination of humor and sexiness.

Overall, the laughs in DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT are more sophomoric and visceral-based than YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. But even if Brooks' more cerebrally satirical sense of humor is missing here, there are still lots of laughs and the director's genuine affection for the classic horror flicks still shows.

The DVD from Warner Home Video offers a mostly pristine anamorphic widescreen transfer of the flick, and the cool extras include the original theatrical trailer and a feature commentary with Brooks, actors Weber and Yasbeck, and the writers who helped Brooks script the film. (Actually, this commentary is much more informative and entertaining than the dull, stoic commentary that Brooks recorded solo for Fox's DVD treatment of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.)

Note: This is a four-star flick for hardcore genre fans, but a general audience probably won't understand the basis for all of the jokes and puns. Thus, the three-star rating given by this reviewer takes the general public into consideration.

Doesn't it bug you when people think the older stuff is better than the new, even when the new is clearly better? Classic doesn't always mean "best," and this is the case with Mel Brooks. "Dracula: Dead And Loving It" is easily the best Mel Brooks movie ever made, and second place is "Robin Hood: Men In Tights." Yes, "Young Frankenstein" is pretty funny, but it doesn't compare to the hilarity and fun of the previous two I mentioned. But why aren't they mentioned as much? I think it's because YF is older and the style of humor was newer then. It's just like when people say "Saturday Night Live" was best in the 70's - no it wasn't, it was awful and unfunny most of the time, just look at some of the old clips. But at the time, it was fresh and new. It's bound to make for nostalgia. But I stick to my guns here on "Dracula: Dead And Loving It" - it's Brooks' best, it has a HUGE rewatchabality factor to it, and it looks so good that it has the flavor of a high budget historical movie. It really does look that good. Attention to detail and cinematography is phenomenal. I can watch this movie any time, but I think it would be best around Halloween. Horror and humor are best when hand in hand!