A Masterpiece!
A different way of telling a story
it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.
View MoreGreat movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
View MoreThis is one of my least favorite Martin & Lewis pics. And I imagine Dean wasn't particular thrilled with some aspects of it. For example, the first song in the film ("When You Pretend") is sort of a duet with Jerry, who sings it badly as he almost always sang; Dean did go on to record it for Capital Records. He gets his own first song with "You Look So Familiar", which he sings about as poorly as you'll see in any of his films; his Capital recording of the song is quite good, however. He fares much better with his own mini-production number of "My Lucky Song"...one of my favorite songs by Dean in any of his Martin & Lewis films. And, later in the film he has "Innamorata", which became a minor hit for Dean at #27 on the Billboard charts. He also has the title song, sung over the credits.Unfortunately, Eva Gabor proves the Gabor sisters couldn't act...but at least it's Eva and not Zsa Zsa! One comedy sequence I thought was too much -- taking the "buddy picture" too far -- was Dean and Jerry in a bathtub together.There are some good things about this film. Shirley MacLaine shines as the female lead and love interest for Jerry. There's a pretty good comedy sequence with Jerry and Shirley to "Innamorata" (after Dean finishes his version). Incidentally, this was Shirley's second film (after Hitchcock's "The Trouble With Harry"). Dorothy Malone is fine as Dean's love interest. Jerry has a funny chiropractor sequence. The production, like several of the later Martin & Lewis films was fairly big budget -- VistaVision, Technicolor, Eastmancolor, and stereo.Dean's and Jerry's acting here is pretty typical for their pictures, but unlike some scenes in some of their comedies, there's little here that's endearing. Dorothy Malone was fine as Dean's love interest, Shirley MacLaine fine as Jerry's. Eddie Mayehoff, who earlier was quite good in several Martin & Lewis films was, from my perspective, becoming a sort of Eddie Mayehoff character...to exaggerated.Time was running out for Martin & Lewis, and in my view, this film showed it.
View MoreOne of Martin & Lewis's better films, this gaudy comedy stretches a paper-thin plot by unnecessarily stringing out a couple of Lewis's comedy sequences – the bathtub scene, and the scene in which he's accosted by an elfin-like Shirley Maclaine on the stairs in particular. Lewis moons and gurns and pulls the kind of faces that are hilarious to a six-year-old (and French people) but will leave anyone in long trousers cold. Martin looks effortlessly cool and does his bit to pad out the film by singing a few numbers. The story is rubbish, an excuse to show Maclaine and Malone in various states of modest undress to keep the dad's interested while mum swoons over Martin and the kids shriek at Lewis.
View MoreRick and Eugene (Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis) are roommates and artists. Business is not good. However, Eugene's crazy dreams (influenced by his constantly reading comic books) which keep Rick asleep turn out to be a GOOD thing, as he talks them out in his sleep--and Rick then writes down what Eugene says and puts them in a comic book! The kids love 'em and this comic book world also brings them into contact with two cuties--Abigale (Dorothy Malone) for Rick and Bessie (Shirley MacLaine) is smitten with Eugene. On a cute twist, when Eugene first sees Bessie, she is dressed up as a model for Abigale to draw--and she is dressed as 'Bat Lady'. Eugen is smitten....but not so smitten with her when she's in her normal guise--and he doesn't know they are the same person! Later, it turns out that the material Eugene unknowingly gives Rick happens to miraculously have fragments of US Government secrets. And, spies are interested in find out more! Rick quickly picks up on this and alerts the government--who then ask Rick to go along with the spies and to let himself get vamped (by Eva Gabor) so he can learn more about her organization--but his girlfriend (Malone) is not amused. Tune in if you want to find out what happens next.Overall, while this is not a great film (understanding I am NOT a Martin & Lewis fan), it does have some clever moments and is pleasant. I especially liked the weird inside jokes--such as one making fun of Jimmy Stewart and "The Rear Window" and liked seeing Eugene sign his name on the easel near the end. But, the film also is pretty low-brow and only pleasant. But the plot is very original and I have to give the film some credit for this.
View MoreLets face it, attempts to make a slapstick comedy, done after the '40's, can hardly be called good or successful ones. This movie however does work out surprisingly and it's one that is hard not to enjoy and will make you laugh, guaranteed. In all honesty, it's one of the most amusing comedies I have ever seen.It's a movie filled with lots of physical humor, mostly coming from Jerry Lewis of course. This at the same time of course means that there is not much to the story but still the movie has a good script, which story provides the movie with plenty of fun and good characters and some nice comical situations. Still the movie at times feels as if it's trying to have too much story in it, which makes the movie drag a bit at times, certainly toward the end. It also makes the movie a bit overlong and it also easily could had been a shorter one had it cut out some of its lesser story lines. The movie should had focused more only on its comedy.It's definitely not a too impressive looking movie. The movie didn't cost a lot of money to make. Not that it matters too much for the movie but its quality will probably still put off some people.Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were a screen-duo that appeared in quite a few comedies together. Lewis was there for playing the goofy characters and for adding most of the slapstick comedy of the movie, while Dean Martin was mostly there to play the pretty guy and to provide the movie with his singing skills. Kind of a strange and also unlikely duo but it worked out very well within their films. For this movie a whole bunch of other well known actors showed up. Cameos was a thing that became big and mostly popular in the '50's and lost of well known persons show up in this movie, though most of them just aren't that well known and recognizable this present day. The movie further more also features Shirley MacLaine and Eva Gabor among others in some big roles.All in all a movie that I enjoyed watching and made me really laugh more than once.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
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