Family Fun Saturday - The Little Mermaid (2023)

Disney, 2023

Starring Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy

Directed by Ken Marshall

Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Lin-Manuel Miranda

Let's revisit that world under the sea in Disney's latest live-action remake. I've had mixed feelings on these movies, which range from good as the original to unnecessary and why in the heck did they bother? It doesn't help that the original animated Disney Little Mermaid has its good points, but was never a huge favorite of mine. Is this one also good as the original, or should they have left this sleeping dogfish alone? Let's once again begin with Prince Eric (Hauer-King) and his men on his ship as they glide across the sea and find out...

The Story: Ariel (Bailey), a mermaid, is obsessed with the world of humans on the surface. She goes to the surface of the water to see fireworks, and ends up rescuing Eric when his ship runs against rocks during a storm. Her father King Triton (Javier Bardem) understands neither her interest in humans, nor her collection of objects from above. After he destroys her collection, Ariel goes to the sea witch Ursula (McCarthy) to help her get above. Ursula agrees to give her legs for three days, but only if she gives up her voice. If she can get Eric to kiss her, she'll stay a human. If she doesn't, she belongs to Ursula. Ariel's friends Scuttle the Northen Gannet (Awkardfina), Sebastian the crab (Daveed Digs), and Flounder (Jacob Tremblay) do everything they can to help her kiss him...but Ursula isn't going to make things easy...

The Song and Dance: Bailey is the thing here. She's a perfect Little Mermaid - sweet, spunky, and curious about everything. The more realistic designs and animation mostly work well with the actual humans around them. Somehow, Sebastian looks cuter as a real crab than he did as an animated one, and Ursula's eels are a lot scarier when you can really see their teeth. McCarthy has a ball as a delectably over-the-top Ursula, Bardem is a commanding Triton, and Hauer-King has a lot more spirit than Eric did in the original movie. I also appreciate that Ariel is a tad more proactive here, doing things herself that other characters did for her in the original film, including taking on Ursula in the finale.

Favorite Number: We open with "Part Of Your World" this time as Ariel explores her treasures with Flounder and wishes she could be with those who originally used them. "Mysterious Fathoms Below" is now a short drinking song for Eric and his men onboard ship before the storm. "Under the Sea" remains a showstopper with more realistic sea creatures dancing and swimming in Busby Berkeley routines. I like that Ariel takes a bigger part in the number here, dancing and singing with the others. Eric has the big ballad "Wild Uncharted Waters" after his mother Queen Selina (Noma Dumezweni) tells him he needs to focus on land and stop going out to sea, looking for girls that don't exist. 

"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is also more-or-less the same here, with McCarthy throwing herself into it just as much. "For the First Time" is a charming number for Ariel when she's on the surface and wondering about everything she sees, from corsets to riding into town. "Kiss the Girl" is also pretty much the same, if maybe a bit smaller, with fewer animals flitting around and Scuttle more integrated into the number. Awkardfina gets the other new number, the rap "The Scuttlebut" as Scuttle tells her friends what's happening and how Ursula tricked Eric.

What I Don't Like: Some problems from the original film remain. This still doesn't have much in common with the original Hans Christian Andersen "Little Mermaid," and letting Ariel and Eric go around the world instead of just getting married doesn't make it less of a cop-out. Other than Eric's "Wild Uncharted Waters," Miranda's rap and R&B don't really fit in with the more traditional Ashman-Menken Broadway tunes. Awkwardfina's "Scuttlebut" sounds especially ridiculous. The special effects are disappointing. The animals look more realistic, but the watery backgrounds are dark, dreary, and look like the CGI they are. The extra scenes are mainly padding and draw the movie out for way, wayyy too long. 

The Big Finale: This seems to have garnered mixed reviews all around...including from me. For everything they got wrong, there's a lot they got right, including some excellent performances. Not horrible, but as with all of the Disney remakes, simply not necessary. Recommended mainly for families with mermaid-or-ocean-crazy kids and those who loved the original movie. 

Home Media: As a brand-new movie, this is easily found in all major formats. It's now on Disney Plus with a subscription.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Disney Plus

Let's Make Love (1960)

20th Century Fox, 1960

Starring Yves Montand, Marilyn Monroe, Tony Randall, and Frankie Vaughan

Directed by George Cukor

Music and Lyrics by various

Grable wasn't the only Fox blonde who had trouble with her career in the 50's and early 60's. Monroe was one of the most beloved stars in the world and an icon of beauty and sexuality by 1960, but what she wanted was to be a respected actress. Her increasing frustrations were drowned in liquor, drugs, and troubled marriages. Monroe had just come from the wildly successful Some Like It Hot. Originally, her next movie was to have been The Misfits, written by her then-husband Arthur Miller, but Fox was so delighted with Hot that they held her to her contract and rushed her into something lighter. Montand, who appeared in a French version of Miller's The Crucible, replaced Gregory Peck when Miller came on to shift the focus to Monroe's character. 

There were problems from the start. Monroe didn't want to do the movie and thought the script was awful, Montand didn't speak English well, and two strikes disrupted filming. With all that, how does the story of a French businessman who joins a revue making fun of him and falls for its leading lady look today? Let's begin with an opening prologue revealing the history of the billionaire Clement family and its current scion, Jean-Marc (Montand), and find out...

The Story: Clement's publicity man Alexander Kaufman (Randall) reports that an off-Broadway revue has a sketch that makes fun of his playboy lifestyle. Intrigued, he goes to the theater to see what it's all about. He's immediately smitten with leading lady Amanda Dell (Monroe) and accepts a role in the show when director Oliver Burton (David Burns) thinks he's an actor. Clement is jealous of Amanda's attention to the show's male lead Tony Danton (Vaughan) and hires Milton Berle, Bing Crosby, and Gene Kelly (themselves) to teach him how to really put over a performance. He even ends up backing the show when one of his employees tries to end the show by raising the rent on the theater. He still, however, has to tell Amanda the truth about who he is and why he's there...

The Song and Dance: If nothing else, Monroe has far more chemistry with Montand than bossy Barbara Streisand would have with him a decade later in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. They make a surprisingly lovely couple. In fact, poor English aside, he's rather charming as the French businessman who learns just how much fun and hard work show business can be. The soft DeLuxe Color and attractive costumes (including Monroe's infamous sweater dress in the opening number) adds a great deal to the fluffy story. 

Favorite Number: We're introduced to Amanda in the Cole Porter standard "My Heart Belongs to Daddy." Monroe slides around poles in that short sweater dress and not much else as men in tank tops pant around her. Vaughan's introductory number is a slightly re-written "Give Me the Simple Life." He also sings about how Monroe has those "Crazy Eyes" that do wild things to him. 

He and Monroe sing about how "Specialization" can make one a major success in show business. This is the weird number with Monroe strutting around in a wide sequined gown and an embarrassed Clement coming out in his fancy tuxedo to crow like a rooster. Bing Crosby teaches Clement how to be "Incurably Romantic." We then get Clement wooing Amanda with it, only to be supplanted by Danton.  The title song is heard three times, over the credits with Monroe and the chorus, as part of the show with Monroe and Vaughan, and towards the end with Monroe and Montand.

Trivia: In addition to Peck, Yul Brunner, Rock Hudson, Cary Grant, and Charlton Heston were all offered the role that eventually went to Montand.

Remake of the 1937 backstage musical On the Avenue. 

What I Don't Like: Monroe has a point about the script. While she and Montand are charming together, the movie around them is silly, dull, overlong fluff. Of the numbers, only "Daddy" works out well. Most of them are filmed on dark, mostly empty stages. Milton Berle does have a few funny moments teaching Montand how to handle a joke, but Kelly and Crosby have far less to do and are barely seen. Randall could have more to do, too. You can tell Jack Cole is once again in charge of the choreography. Some of the numbers are bizarre to the point of being ridiculous, notably the rather goofy "Specialization." 

The Big Finale: It's too bad this would be Monroe's last musical and her second-to-last movie. I wish she'd ended her musical career (and Montand had begun his) on a better note. Only for the most devoted fans of either of the leads. 

Home Media: DVD and Blu-Ray are currently fairly expensive. If you must see this, you may be better off streaming it. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Three for the Show

Columbia Pictures, 1955

Starring Betty Grable, Marge & Gower Champion, and Jack Lemmon

Directed by H.C Potter

Music and Lyrics by various

By the time this movie came out, Grable's career was in freefall. The down-to-Earth, all-American girl she played in movies of the 40's had been supplanted by more exotic beauties like Audrey Hepburn or sensual bombshells like Marilyn Monroe. This would be her second-to-last movie, and her last musical. On suspension from 20th Century Fox, she joined Columbia. They paired her with up-and-coming dancers Marge and Gower Champion (on loan from MGM) and Oscar winner Jack Lemmon for this musical remake of the W. Somerset Maugham's farce Too Many Husbands, best known for it's non-musical version from 1940 with Jean Arthur. How does it look today? Let's start with a weird musical number under the credits, a unique version of "Someone to Watch Over Me" with harlequins and pirouts dancing in rainbow costumes, and find out...

The Story: Broadway star Julie Lowndes (Grable) married songwriter and performer Vernon Lowndes (Gower Champion) after his best friend and songwriting partner Marty Stewart (Lemmon) is reported missing in action during the Korean War. Turns out Marty is very much alive, and he returns to pick up with his wife. Julie doesn't mind being married to both of them, but they're not as eager to share her. There's also Julie's dancer best friend Gwen (Marge Champion), who has a crush on Marty and wishes Julie would make up her mind.

The Song and Dance: This is one bizarre musical. Between the strange Jack Cole choreography and Julie's insistence on keeping both men despite being branded a bigamist, the story is pretty darn unique. Grable thoroughly enjoys being between the two men, and the Champions have some of their best dances here. The strange story is amplified by some gorgeous costumes, especially in those dances. 

Favorite Number: That first crazy harlequin-themed number under the credits is a very stylized and colorful version of the Gershwin standard "Someone to Watch Over Me." Marge Champion wistfully sings it later, when she's the odd woman out in the marriage triangle. This is followed up by a strange instrumentla ballet, with Grable and Marge literally fighting a duel in ball gowns for their men to the tune of the classical "Polovetsian Dances." Marge admits her feelings for Gower during their duet towards the end to an instrumental "Watch Over Me." 

 "Down Boy" has Julia imagining herself as an Arabian queen with more husbands than she knows what to do with, and each and every one of them pawing her. "I've Got a Crush On You" is simpler, just Grable and Lemmon recalling the early days of their courtship and how they first fell in love over a piano. Grable does her own version of Marilyn Monroe's sweet-sensual routines among languid dancers in tropical costumes as she insists "I've Been Kissed Before" in the finale, before joining the chorus for "How Come You Do Me Like You Do," ending up on top of Lemmon's piano to win him back.

What I Don't Like: Did I mention how weird this is? First of all, most of the numbers have nothing to do with anything...and even when they do, they're too strange to fit in, like that danced duel with the ladies in their long trains. I give them credit for a fairly original plot for a musical, but it doesn't make much sense. Did Julia really think she'd get away with keeping both men? Grable and Lemmon are playing different styles, and she looks about a decade older than him. The newer songs aren't terribly memorable, either. 

The Big Finale: Not Betty Grable's best work, but not as horrible as many online make it out to be. Mainly for fans of her, Lemmon, or the bold and brassy musicals of the 1950's. 

Home Media: Easily found on disc as part of a collection with 20 other musicals and online. It's currently free with ads on Tubi. 

DVD - Musical 20 Movie Collection

Tubi 

Weekend In Havana

20th Century Fox, 1941

Starring Alice Faye, John Payne, Carmen Miranda, and Caesar Romero

Directed by Walter Lang

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Mack Gordon

I return from vacation with a week of later musicals featuring three of the most beloved leading ladies at 20th Century Fox from the 30's through the 60's. Faye was still very popular at this point, but Fox already had a new leading lady waiting in the wings. Betty Grable could not only sing, but dance, too, and she had legs to spare. Faye's interests were increasingly with her family, but she did manage to make this tropical confection before taking time off. How does the story of a sales girl looking for love in Cuba look today? Let's begin with the owner of McCracken Cruises Walter McCracken (George Barbier) as he learns one of his ships has run aground and find out...

The Story: McCracken sends his vice president Jay Williams (Payne) to the grounded vessel in order to circumvent legal action. He's able to get every passenger to sign a waiver for passage on a later voyage but Nan Spencer (Faye). Nan is a shop girl who has saved for her vacation for years and can't get another two weeks off. Jay offers for the company to give her an all-expenses-paid trip in Cuba. Nan says she'll sign the waiver if she has a good time.

Nan's idea of having a good time is finding romance. Jay tells gambler Monte Blanca (Romero) he'll pay off his debts if he courts Nan. Monte's girlfriend Rosita Rivas (Miranda) is jealous, even after Jay agrees to manage her while Monte is busy. And then there's Jay's fiancee Terry (Cobina Wright), who has come to Havana to check on her fiancee, and finds him in love with another...

The Song and Dance: Faye does a lot better in this outing than as Don Ameche's wife in That Night In Rio earlier in the year. Her shop girl is determined, feisty, and almost as fierce as Miranda. Payne does better in the first half as the stiff vice president who is just doing his duty than when he defrosts later in the film. There's also the gorgeous Technicolor production and stunning frilly or floral costumes for Miranda and the performers at the nightclub, stunning gowns for Faye, and huge sets representing Cuba between the wars.

Favorite Number: Our first song is the title number on the delights of Havana, performed in the opening by a lively Miranda, a background band, and a multitude of chorus dancers in tropical orange and yellow costumes. Miranda also gets the authentic Cuban "Rebola a Bola" and "When I Love, I Love," which pretty much sums up her character in most of her movies. Miranda's unnamed band initially performs "Tropical Magic" in Spanish. Faye picks it up in English. Faye later sings it with Payne on a hay wagon back to Havana. Romero and Faye sing about "Romance and Rhumba" on the dance floor at the nightclub, and even do a little dancing themselves. Miranda finishes things with another tropical chorus number, "The Nango." Even Faye and Payne join in here.

Trivia: Faye was pregnant during the making of this film. 

What I Don't Like: The story is just as slight as other 20th Century Fox musicals of the 30's and 40's. Payne was never that comfortable in musicals, despite his good singing voice, and he does better as the stuffy vice president than he does later in the film, when he's supposed to be defrosting. Nifty as those sets are, they don't look much like the real Cuba to me. The only actual Hispanic to be seen is Miranda. 

The Big Finale:  Charming tropical time-waster if you love the 20th Century Fox musicals of the 40's and 50's.

Home Media: DVD only from the 20th Century Fox Marquee Musicals series.

DVD

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Wacky World of Mother Goose

Embassy Pictures/Videocraft (Rankin-Bass), 1967

Voices of Margaret Rutherford, Bradley Bolke, Bob McFadden, and Laura Leslie

Directed by Jules Bass and Kizo Nagashima

Music by George Wilikins; Lyrics by Jules Bass

First of all, Musical Dreams Movie Reviews will be going on vacation hiatus from the 18th through the 25th. Reviews resume the 26th. 

Second, we return to the wild world of Rankin-Bass for their first 2-D animated film. Having done Hans Christian Andersen stories and world history for their first two movies, they turned their attention to Mother Goose. These little rhymes go as far back medieval England, but the versions that are most familiar nowadays are Charles Perrault's Tales of Mother Goose from the 17th century. How does the story of Mother Goose (Rutherford) and her triumph over the Crooked Man (Bolke) look nowadays? Let's begin as Mother Goose and the chorus explain about their topsy turvy world over the credits and find out...

The Story: Mother Goose is nervous when she travels over the moon to visit her sick sister (Bryna Raeburn). She has good cause to be. Count Walktwist the Crooked Man and his enchanted army swoop down and kidnap Old King Cole's daughter Princess Harmony (Leslie) and her sweetheart Prince Robin. He holds them for ransom and forces Cole to give up the kingdom to him. All of the adults are made servants, and the knights become evil slaves to him. Upset at the loss of their parents, Little Jack Horner (Kevin Gavin) and Mary Quite Contrary (Susan Melvin) try to find a way over the moon to tell Mother Goose what's going on and bring her home to save them. They're later joined by cheerful egg Humpty Dumpty (McFadden). 

The Animation:  Some of the earliest design work from Paul Coker, Jr, and his only theatrical 2-D work. The caricature of Rutherford is spot-on, but other characters look bland or have strange designs. The Crooked Man is all green angles, while Princess Harmony is wispy and white. Where this stands out in the color. The vibrant primaries and black and white used for Mother Goose's world really pop, even on the copy currently at YouTube. 

The Song and Dance: Some decent songs and performances liven up this one. Bolke in particular makes a deliciously over-the-top Crooked Man. Melvin is funny and spunky as tough little Mary, who is determined to show that girls can be just as good on adventures as boys. Rutherford has some funny moments when we do see her.

Favorite Number: We open with Rutherford and the chorus performing "Great Big Wacky World" as she flies over the sights and landmarks of her kingdom; the chorus reprises it over the end credits. "Good-Bye" is a sort-of song for Rutherford as she wonders why she's leaving her beloved people. She talks the lyrics, but there's a rather lovely sad melody under them. Harmony tells her father that "I Still Believe In Fairy Tales" and romance. 

Humpty Dumpty reassures Jack that "It's Never Too Late" to save his parents and the kingdom in a charmingly upbeat duet. Mary asks stubborn Jack why he won't give her "Half a Chance" to show what she can do. Harmony and Robin complain that "I Can Predict" what the other will do, even while in the dungeon. The Cat with the fiddle gets the purple cow dancing to jump over the moon in a lively instrumental number. 

Trivia: Margaret Rutherford's last film. 

What I Don't Like: For a musical called The Wacky World of Mother Goose, this is neither all that wacky, nor does it have much of Mother Goose. In fact, Rutherford's role is limited to the first ten and last ten minutes and a few minutes in between at her sister's house. The story is downright dark for Rankin-Bass. Soldiers are turned into evil crooked versions of themselves; parents are kidnapped for slaves. Goosey Goosey Gander is a giant gray nightmare of a bird. They even manage to make that giant candlestick Jack jumps over look terrifying enough to give kids nightmares. Most of the characters are either as bland as the kids or annoying as heck. 

The Big Finale: Recommended only for those who must see everything Rankin-Bass or are looking for background noise for elementary-schoolers. 

 

Home Media: The DVD is out of print and ridiculously expensive. If you must see this, it can currently be found for free on YouTube and the Internet Archive.

DVD

YouTube

Internet Archive

Road to Bali

Paramount, 1953

Starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Murvyn Vye

Directed by Hal Walker

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

It took almost five years for Hope, Crosby, and Lamour to come together again for another jaunt down the Road. Once again, Crosby and Hope financed it through their own companies. A lot of things had changed since 1947, though. Newer comedy teams with faster, hipper acts were coming into films, and there was also the looming specter of television. Paramount upped their ante with color, bigger numbers, and cameos by major stars of the era. How does all this work with the story of two American singers in Australia who help a South Seas princess look for treasure and save her from head hunters? Let's begin with a travelogue of Australia as it describes some of it's most famous treasures...including those two American singers, who are currently performing in Melbourne...and find out...

The Story: Harold Gridley (Hope) and George Cochran (Crosby) barely escape Melbourne ahead of several farmers who want shotgun marriages. After they flee the train, they're hired in Darwin on the coast by the Prince Ken Arok (Vye) who wants them to uncover a long-lost underwater treasure. He takes them to his kingdom not far from Bali, Indonesia. There, they compete for the favors of the lovely Princess Lala McTavish (Lamour). 

Turns out that the treasure Arok wants them to dive into the coral for is guarded by a legendarily monstrous squid. Even after they manage to escape the squid and Arok with the treasure, they accidentally wreck the ship and end up on another remote island. If encountering tigers, traps, and an amorous female gorilla wasn't bad enough, they also have to contend with Arok and the chief of a group of head hunters who wants to marry Lala and get them out of the picture...and the movie, too. 

The Song and Dance: Along with the lush Technicolor cinematography, the gags are the best thing about this. This one features some of the funniest fourth-wall breaking wisecracks in the entire series and some amusing gags revolving around Hope and a flute he plays that can bring up beautiful women from a basket. Lamour has slightly more to do than usual, including the trio's second and last number together. Look for cameos from Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (Paramount's major comedy team of the time), Humphrey Bogart in a clip from The African Queen, Bing's younger brother Bob Crosby, and in the finale, Jane Russell. 

Favorite Number: The boys' vaudeville hat-and-cane number in the opening here is "Chicago-Style," which is disrupted by two Australian farmers who think the guys want to marry their pretty daughters. Lamour's languid ballad "Moonflowers" is heard twice. She's introduced singing it to her handmaidens as they weave a Scottish tartan that is definitely out of place in Indonesia. After they've been shipwrecked, she sings it again while floating around in a crystal-clear pool of water. The boys watch in delight...but Paramount knows better than to let two lusty middle-aged men join her, even after the branch they lean on breaks. 

We get a strange dance routine with many-armed golden Indonesian statues at the party for Harry and George on the island that perform a stiff, waving instrumental number. The princess and her court prefer this spectacle over Harry and George's Scottish spoof "Hoots Man," with them in kilts, playing bagpipes, and trading bad Scotsman jokes. My personal favorite comic number from any of the road movies is "The Merry Go Run-Around." Lala admits that yes, she does love both guys but can't decide in a hilarious trio that ends with them swinging around on vines. It sums up the entire series and Lamour's role in it more than any words could. 

Trivia: There were to have been two more numbers, a large-scale routine for Crosby, Hope, Lamour, and the chorus to the title song, along with an extended Indonesian ballet. The numbers was ultimately cut. The title song can only be heard in the opening credits and on a soundtrack album featuring Crosby and Peggy Lee. 

Currently owned by Sony Pictures via Fremantle, but it's generally considered to be in the public domain.

What I Don't Like: Even more than most of the Road movies, it helps to know something about the early 50's in Hollywood and Australian and American pop culture at the time to get a lot of the jokes. Those who aren't up on their history of the mid-20th century may be a little confused or wonder what all the fuss is about. Other than "Merry Go-Run-Around," the songs aren't nearly as memorable as some of the earlier entries in the series. After the bizarre wedding with Lala almost marrying both guys and them nearly getting killed by the head hunters, the ending is weird and more than a little anti-climatic. 

The Big Finale: Opinions on this one seem to be divided online. Some think it's one of the funniest Road movies; others lament the silly story and the dated references. For me, it's my second-favorite Road movie after Morocco. Highly recommended for fans of the series (though I still say you should start with the earlier Morocco or Zanzibar before before coming here). 

Home Media: Thanks to it being in the public domain, it's easy to find anywhere, often for under $10. Look for the Kino-Lorber Blu-Ray and streaming copies. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Road to Rio

Paramount, 1947

Starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Gale Sondergaard

Directed by Norman McLeod

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke

After they hit the frozen Yukon in Utopia, Paramount brought their Road travelers back to warmer climes for their fifth film, one Bing and Bob financed themselves. This time, it was such a hit, it wound up being the biggest film of 1948. Is it still hilarious today, or should it be left onboard? Let's start with Scat Sweeney (Crosby) and Hot Lips Barton (Hope) getting chased literally across the US map, and find out...

The Story: Scat and Hot Lips stow away on an ocean liner bound for Rio De Janeiro, Brazil after accidentally starting a fire at a circus. Once onboard, they swear they'll never get involved with women again...until Scat discovers Lucia de Andrade (Lamour) about to commit suicide. He talks her down and learns that she's returning to Brazil to marry her fiancee, the brother of her guardian Catherine Vail (Sondergaard). They don't know what to think when she turns them in, only to get them jobs as musicians on the ship minutes later. 

They finally sneak her off the ship when they arrive in Brazil. Corralling three local musicians (The Wiere Brothers), they pass themselves off as a band in a night club with Lucia as their singer. Once again, the moment Catherine finds her, she gives them away. They learn from an agent (Robert Barrat) that Vail wants to control Lucia and her vast fortune via certain papers locked away in Lucia's home. Turns out Catherine's hypnotizing her into doing her bidding. She tries it on Scat and Hot Lips, too, but they manage to snap out of it. Now they have to find those papers and stop the wedding, before Catherine tries any more of her tricks.

The Song and Dance: Sondergaard gets high marks here as probably the best - or at least, the most unique - villain from the Road series. Her creepy wiles scare even Bing and Bob and lend a slightly eerie vibe to the crazy goings-on. In fact, this has one of the more intriguing plots in the series, with Lucia's back-and-forth and the race for the papers in the second half. The Wiere Brothers have some funny moments during the nightclub segment in the middle of the film when Scat teaches them hipster argot, and it's the only English they know. 

Favorite Number: Scat and Hot Lips open at the circus with their big vaudeville duet on the wonders of "Apalachicola, Fla." Bing explains why "But Beautiful" is just a song when he describes what's really going on in a scene from a movie musical showing on board to Lucia. Bing joins The Andrews Sisters on the ship as they insist "You Don't Have to Know the Language" to understand the language of love. "Experience" is Lucia's number at the nightclub as she laments that said "experience" keeps her from love. "Batuque No Morro" is the big number at the wedding. The Wiere Brothers sing and clown to the genuine South American number, to the delight of the crowd. Scat and Hot Lips do their idea of a tempestuous tango, Hot Lips as Carmen Miranda in drag.

Trivia: Look for Jerry Colonna in the end as the head of the cavalry that never makes it to Lucia's wedding. 

What I Don't Like: This one is a tad less freewheeling than some of the other Road movies. Few stereotypes, but also not as many wacky gags or talking animals. The middle drags a little despite the gags with the Wiere Brothers, and really doesn't have much to do with the rest of the movie. The plot is stronger than usual, but ultimately doesn't make much sense. The papers suddenly appear half-way through the film and disappear when they've served their purpose in the end. 

The Big Finale: Probably not the best Road movie to start with for newcomers, but fans will enjoy Bing, Bob, and Dorothy's antics in South America. 

Home Media: On Blu-Ray from Kino-Lorber International. 

Blu-Ray