Movie Review: Artists and Models (1955)
Synopsis: Rick Todd is a struggling artist who lives with his friend, Eugene Fullstack, an aspiring children's book writer who can't keep a job because of his obsession with comic books. Eugene is especially a fan of Bat Lady, which he later learns are written by his neighbor, Abigail Parker and inspired by her friend, Bessie. When a recently fired Abigail grows tired of the demand for violence, she recruits a willing Eugene in her efforts to speak out against the industry. What they don't know is Rick has been publishing comics based on a character from Eugene's nightmares, something that catches the attention of spies interested in a secret formula described in those stories.
Who's in it? The movie stars Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Shirley MacLaine, Dorothy Malone and Eddie Mayehoff.
Review: I have had Artists and Models in my movie library for several months but have been reluctant to watch it because I've honestly never been a bit Jerry Lewis fan. However, since it had been a long time since I had seen one of his films, especially movies that co-starred Dean Martin, I decided to give it a try today anyway.
Unfortunately, while it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, the film didn't do much to change my mind.
I'll start out by saying I thought Lewis was better in this film than some of the others I've seen him in. I think it might be because his character, Eugene, was kept in small doses, allowing for the comedy without keeping him on screen long enough to the point of annoyance and letting Martin do the heavy lifting as his friend, Rick.
I think my lack of enjoyment had more to do with the movie itself. It's a 2-hour musical that could easily have been 30 minutes shorter without cutting out any of the songs because a lot of the runtime is filled with jokes that just go on too long, such as the scene with Eugene running up and down the stairs to conduct a phone conversation via relay.
Also not helping was the movie being halfway over before it even got to the main plot involving Rick stealing Eugene's dreams and publishing them as a comic. This plot, in itself, didn't make Rick out to be such a great guy. Making me wait for that plot as the movie went through a variety of different stories ranging from found romance to Abigail's (Malone) anti-comic campaign just made it worse in my opinion.
I will admit the closing scenes with the protagonists taking on the spies were more entertaining than expected albeit, once again, a bit stretched out. It was a good mix of action and comedy that showed what the film could have been had it focused on the main plot from the start.
Final Opinion: It's not a terrible comedy but it is one that could have used a bit more editing. I didn't hate it but also didn't love it.
My Grade: C
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Here are some reviews of other musicals:
Movie Review: Mean Girls (2024)
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