Life Stinks (1991)

A wealthy Los Angeles businessman (Mel Brooks, who also directed) enters a wager with a rival businessman (Jeffrey Tambor) that he can survive on the streets of L.A. for 30 days with no money, no home or other comforts. While the film may resemble the 1983 comedy TRADING PLACES slightly, unlike that film the priority isn't keeping laughs coming. As a comedy, LIFE STINKS is pretty much a dud. But what it does have is heart and there are several poignant moments that reflect on the plight of the homeless in a major urban city. The "happily ever after" ending is phony as all get out but there are some genuinely authentic moments among the shallow ones. Lesley Ann Warren as a bag lady who teaches Brooks the ropes of living on the streets gives a strong performance that lifts the film up a few notches. There are two wonderful sequences that stand out. The first is an Astaire & Rogers dance number danced by Brooks and Warren amid the garbage, rags and empty boxes. The second is a genuinely amusing duel between two bulldozers that parodies those Godzilla vs. Gamera (or Mothra or King Kong etc.) Japanese creature features. The score is by John Morris. With Howard Morris, Teddy Wilson, Rudy De Luca and Billy Barty.