Absolutely Fantastic

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Trying to avoid shotgun weddings, two entertainers (Bob Hope, Bing Crosby) run away and take jobs as deep sea divers. This leads them to Bali and princess Dorothy Lamour. Inevitably both guys vie for Dorothy's affections while tangling with bad guys and a giant squid.Routine 'Road' picture with the notable difference of it being in color. Hope and Crosby are always fun, especially when they break the fourth wall. Lamour is lovely in color. This was her last film for ten years. Some of the gags are tired but there are still lots of yuks. Also some decent songs. Overall the likable personalities of the trio keep it afloat. Jane Russell, Martin & Lewis, and Humphrey Bogart (through African Queen footage) all have cameos. There is one rather odd sequence where Dorothy dreams of her childhood pet monkey and we see a real chimp wearing a very creepy Bob Hope mask.

One of the actors making a cameo in Road to Bali is missing from the credit list--Humphrey Bogart! Bogie is seen pulling "The African Queen" through the marsh just as he did in the movie "The African Queen"! This film is full of site gags like the earlier Road pics, including Martin and Lewis in a dream and Bing's brother Bob shooting wild game! There have been various versions of this film released on video. TCM just showed a great copy in its original form with the Paramount logo. Earlier versions had cut the logo. This film must have fallen into public domain since it was produced by Bing (and Bob?) and only released by Paramount. The interesting thing about the new TCM version is that it has an early-'50s Columbia logo at the start! They must have gained access to it as the did Road to Rio years earlier.

In 1952 Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour reunited after five years to make another one of their famous and brilliantly funny Road pictures.This time around the cameras were destined to role in colour for the first (and only) time in the series, but they were determined to return to the old formula of a Road movie which had been altered slightly for their last outing to Rio.Bing and Bob, are once again two vaudeville entertainers are fleeing Australia and a shotgun wedding apiece, and in their desperation take a last resort job as deep sea divers for a tribe of Balineese treasure hunters.On the island they meet a beautiful Princess played by Lamour whose sensual charm and beauty finally persuades our two cowards to recover her fathers lost treasure from the giant squid infested depths.However when the Princess' cousin turns traitor and mobilises the entire island against them, they are forced to re-steal the treasure and flee for their lives.However when the threesome are shipwrecked on a supposedly deserted island the fun really starts as the natives are restless, in cahoots with the princess' cousin and determined to marry Bob and Bing off.....to each other!The full on zaniness returns in this sixth movie, with Bob and Bing's supposed ad-libs reaching fever pitch and Bobs irreverent cracks to the audience and the real world showing no signs of abating.We also have cameos from Bob Crosby (one time big band leader and brother of Leading man Bing) Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and Humphrey Bogart in the form of stock footage from The African Queen as he drags his boat through the weeds giving Bob the classic one-liner of, "Boy, is he lost!" Songs here are good too, with Lamour singing the exotic "Moonflowers" and the catchy number "Merry Go Runaround" sung by the trio round a makeshift campfire whilst swinging from trees.This is one of the best entries in the series and a thoroughly enjoyable movie.

Before watching Road to Bali, Road to Singapore was the only other Hope/Crosby Road movie I'd seen. I enjoyed Road to Singapore and I've been meaning to give some more of these movies a go. In comparison, however, Road to Bali is terrible. It's just not funny. The jokes and sight gags never seem to hit their mark. For example, the bit about the loved starved gorilla was painful to watch. I was especially annoyed with all the self-referential, "look, we're in a movie" attempts at humor. When used judiciously, breaking the mythical fourth wall and speaking directly to the audience can be funny. Unfortunately, Bob Hope does it so often in Road to Bali that I wanted to scream. Also, I've real other comments where people favorably mention the various cameos. They felt forced and didn't work for me either.With all that being said, that doesn't mean I'm not going to give some of the other Road movies a shot. Next time, however, I think I'll stick with one of the earlier ones.