And the silliness begins. His luggage (coffin) gets lost at the airport ending up at a funeral at a black church in Harlem. (Holy Jeffersons, Batman!) He discovers, to his amazement, that the U.S. has blood banks! He falls in love with a model (Susan Saint James), a direct descendant of Mina Harker, Dracula's true love. Her psychiatrist (Richard Benjamin) is pretty sure he is love with her, but not enough to marry her. He is, however, sure that Dracula is a vampire, and it is his duty to hunt him down and kill him, even though he has no idea how. After all, he is the descendant of Van Helsing, although he has changed his name to Rosenberg for professional reasons.
The movie is full of references to the old vampire movies. My favorite: in the old movies when Dracula hears the dogs (wolves?) howl, he smiles and says, "Ah, the children of the night." Our Dracula says: "Children of the night, SHUT UP!" complete with Romanian accent.
There is a scene in a disco where the music has been changed from the original. Instead of "I Love the Nightlife," we get a disco version of "The Man I Love." It's a shame because it does change the feeling of the scene. (See how much movie music affects a scene!) If you look around, you can find the original version.
Like many of the spoof movies, not all the jokes work and it is uneven and dated, but the jokes come fast and furious, and you will find yourself laughing out loud. It is also a great showcase for the pop culture of the '80's. If you've had enough Twilight, True Blood, and all the other vampire hyper-romances, this should cleanse your palate.
DIRECTOR: Stan Dragoti. CAST: George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin, Dick Shawn, Arte Johnson, Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, Barry Gordon, Ronnie Schell, Eric Laneuville.
AWARDS: 3 wins and 4 nominations.
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