Plot: Who Cares?
The 5th and the last of the truly funny Road pictures. Highlights include an appearance by the "Andrews Sisters" , the Wiere Brothers, and some great one-liners by Hope. No doubt Hope and Crosby wanted to do something different and Rio is less zany and slower-paced, more "mainstream", than the previous Road pictures. "Rio" clocks in at 100 minutes compared to the 82 minutes of "Road to Morocco" and 90 minutes for "Road to Utopia" and there are fewer fast-paced gags/inside jokes and by-ply between the boys.
I'd place it below those two films, but its still pretty good. And being able to see it in a theater full of classical films fans who "got the jokes" added to the pleasure.
Also, two things struck me, watching it in on a big screen. First, what a truly great physical comedian Bob Hope was. He always had great timing and could tell a joke, but when he was young -that is under 50 - he could complement that with some truly funny facial expressions. The other is how great Crosby sounds in a theater. What a great baritone voice he had - beautiful and manly. Sinatra was probably the better singer of Popular music (whether upbeat or cynical) but when it comes to crooning a love ballet or a more old-fashioned song Crosby couldn't be beat.
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