★ 9 / 10
Happiness is just a state of mind my
John Chard
Happiness is just a state of mind my friend … when you pretend. Rick Todd and Eugene Fullstack share an apartment, Rick is a struggling artist and Eugene is a…
Happiness is just a state of mind my friend … when you pretend.
Rick Todd and Eugene Fullstack share an apartment, Rick is a struggling artist and Eugene is a comic book fan with very few marbles! Both men are struggling to earn money, but when Eugene starts telling the comic book adventures of Vincent the Vulture in his sleep, Rick spies an opportunity to make some money. Trouble is is that the gorgeous Bessie Sparrowbrush and Abigail Parker are about to enter the boys lives, and with the secret services from different countries interested in Eugene's dreams as well, love and government interests are going to meet head on - with the result being chaos!
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were a double act that had as many ups as they did downs, but something about their partnership tapped into the fluff entertainment market that entertained millions with a blend of crooning and idiotic pratfalling. Here with Artists And Models they manage to create an ode to joy that positively quakes with fun from the very first tremor of the opening sequence. If we were to dissect the film and analyse it piece by piece it would probably come up short of being a technical wonder and a genius smart piece of film making, but really why would anyone want to do that? Surely we enter a film like this in the hope of being taken away from the world? And few films in this genre can better lay claim to being so fun and full of love, friendship and care free abandon, all in one clean sweep. To me personally there is only Singing In The Rain that can portray better the beauty of living your life with a smile on your face, Artists And Models has everything one needs to cure the blues.
Sparkling as it does in Vistavision, Artists and Models delights the eyes as much as it lifts the heart, technically it scores high and it's boosted by a cast on optimum form. Jerry Lewis is hated as much as he is adored, I guess his bumbling buffoonery annoys if taken in regular doses, but when he was on form he is nothing short of a comic genius. Witness here in this film the quintessential Jerry Lewis turn, from a quite brilliant telephone to bath sequence via mime, to an interplay musical sequence with the fabulous Shirley MacLaine, these could surely make even the dead raise a smile.
Then there is Dino Paul Crocetti, those Italian looks so beloved by the ladies, sickeningly going hand in hand with a voice apparently sent from high above. Enjoy here a special sequence as Dean sings and dances with the children (sadly uncredited), every inch of the frame is filled with what makes the world go around. Shirley Maclaine, Dorothy Malone and the ever enjoyable Eddie Mayehoff all combine to make this one of the pinnacles of the Dean & Jerry partnership, it may not be your preferred genre, but everyone should let such an ode to joy into their lives just once. 9/10
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★ 6 / 10
The definitive Martin & Lewis?
JasparLamarCrabb
Seen on the big screen, Frank Tashlin's ARTIST AND MODELS is one of the most colorful live action move ever made. It's also probably the best movie made by…
Seen on the big screen, Frank Tashlin's ARTIST AND MODELS is one of the most colorful live action move ever made. It's also probably the best movie made by Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis. Martin is a comic book artist with little talent who takes room-mate Lewis's flights of fancy as his own. As in all Martin & Lewis films, mayhem ensues. It's fast paced, very funny, and very enjoyable. How can anyone not like movie with characters named Eugene Fullstack and Bessie Sparrowbrush? Martin and Lewis are in fine form and the supporting cast is exceptional. Dorothy Malone, Eva Gabor, Anita Ekberg and, best of all, Shirley MacLaine. It also helps to have the likes of Eddie Mayehoff and Jack Elam (as Ivan) in the mix. Daniel L. Fapp provided the extremely vivid cinematography. The clever art direction is by Hal Pereira, who had a hand in virtually every Paramount release during the 1950s and 60s.
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★ 7 / 10
A 'modern' slapstick, I like it!
Boba_Fett1138
Lets 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…
Lets 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.
7/10
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Shirley MacLaine was adorable! Real good film if only Jerry wouldn't screech like that in the night