Too much of everything

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Blistering performances.

Malcolm Smith (Jerry Lewis) wins a car in a lottery but degenerate gambler Steve Wiley (Dean Martin) scams the contest with a counterfeit ticket. Malcolm is a dedicated fan of famed actress Anita Ekberg driving across the country to Hollywood. Steve pretends to be her neighbor and joins him on the drive. Steve fails to steal the car and they lose it to an armed old lady. They get the car back and pick up aspiring dancer Terry Roberts on her way to Vegas.This is the final movie for this legendary pairing. Things got so bad that the guys barely conversed off screen. They are still very professional in their performances. I'm sure their split affected the critical reception at the time. This has the broad comedy and song singing that one expects from this duo. It is not that offensive except for the native stopover and various old fashion stuff. Much of it is a picturesque travelogue. It is not the deepest of movies but one wouldn't expect one here.

Hollywood or Bust (1956)*** (out of 4)Steve Wiley (Dean Martin) is a gambler who is in over his head with some bookies. He works up a scheme to basically steal a car from a theater that is giving it away through on raffle. The only problem is that die hard movie fan Malcolm Smith (Jerry Lewis) ends up with the car and the two are forced to share it, which sends them on a road trip to Hollywood.Hollywood OR BUST would turn out to be the last Martin & Lewis movie and it's really too bad because it seems the duo were making some of their best movies at the end. This one here is an incredibly entertaining and at times very funny picture that manages to offer up a pretty good story and three great lead performances. It has been said that Martin and Lewis' relationship was pretty much dead during the making of this picture and that they refused to speak to each other but you certainly can't tell that by watching the film.I really thought that out of all the Martin & Lewis films I've seen this one here gave both actors their most equal parts. I think the highlight of the film is a moment early on when the two are inside the theater and trying to win the car for their own reasons. There were some very funny moments inside the theater and things got even funnier when the large Great Dane dog enters the picture. Martin, Lewis and the dog have some very funny scenes together and things get even funnier when Pat Crowley joins things as well as Maxie Rosenbloom in her quick role. Anita Ekberg plays herself, the star who Lewis loves the most.There are a couple decent music numbers throughout the picture but here is one time where Dean's songs take a back seat to the comedy. Hollywood OR BUST is your typical road picture but I really thought it was an extremely funny picture and one with a good spirit and a nice pace. It's really too bad Martin & Lewis came to an end here but at least they went out with one of their better pictures.

Okay, let's see: a large dog drives a car, a film nerd gets caught in a bull-ring wearing a red coat, the film nerd falls from a scaffolding right onto the bed on which Anita Ekberg lies. There are story holes (Dean still owes the money at the end to the gangsters, right?)Does any of this read as if we are embarking on an intelligent film odyssey (ie, cp with any Steve Martin film). Of course not. That being said, this is a really fun and funny movie. The characters are drawn sufficiently full that we feel we do know what and who they are, the slapstick is set up reasonably logically, and the visual comedy reflects the fact Lewis and Dean had honed their shtick over many many years. It all works, and works well. The songs are nice, Dean looks great, Lewis' timing is on-spot, all the women shown in the opening credits, pool scene, etc are still fun to see, the director keeps it humming quickly along, the shots of Chicago's Lake Shore Drive and downtown are fun to see, and the story, well, the story is the nonsense to get from one scene to another.

Though according to the Nick Tosches biography of Dean Martin, both Martin and Lewis were barely speaking to each other off camera, the two of them did go out on a good note in Hollywood Or Bust.In fact the antagonism between them probably helped in a way. The plot calls for Martin to be a gambler into a bookie big time. But he's got a scheme whereby he cheats a lottery and wins a new car. The problem is that Lewis, playing his usual schnook, also has a winning ticket, the real one. Car dealer Willard Waterman gives joint ownership of the car to them. Martin takes the offer thinking he can dump Lewis and still sell the car to cover his losses. But Lewis wants the car to meet his dream girl Anita Ekberg playing herself. Two other passengers come along on this New York to Hollywood trip, aspiring showgirl Pat Crowley and Lewis's great Dane, Mr. Bascomb. The gags involving the dog were taken straight from the WC Fields classic, Six of a Kind. That's certainly in keeping with the Paramount tradition of having Martin and Lewis remake some of their classics. The great Dane foiled Dino's schemes and caused quite the ruckus.A very hot song writing team of the period, Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster, wrote the score for Hollywood Or Bust. They won two Oscars in the Fifties for Secret Love and Love Is A Many Splendored Thing. One of Dino's best ballads comes from this score, It Looks Like Love. His Capitol Record is a classic. Because of the antagonism the two were feeling in real life, the scenes were sharp between Dean and Jerry. Lewis in fact told one and all this would be the team's last joint effort. And in Hollywood, they did indeed bust, but they busted with style.