Friday, March 13, 2009

3/8/09: The Monkey's Uncle (1965)

DISNEY WEEK #2
We close out my second consecutive Disney Week with the sequel to The Misadventures of Merlin Jones. Made one year later, it's exactly the same kind of movie, with the same cast, same goofball humor and same madcap science theme. Like its predecessor, it's split up into two roughly 45-minute segments: in the first part, Merlin tries to save football at Midvale College by helping its dumbbell players study via a sleep-study technique; in the second part, he saves football by inventing a method of man-powered flight (don't ask). Annette Funicello is perky and pretty, and there's plenty of chimpanzee-based humor. The Beach Boys even appear to sing with Annette during the film's opening credits. And it's always great to see Arthur O'Connell (The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao), who provides the movie with its wonderful punchline. Lighter than air, but blissfully enjoyable. Rating: 4/5.

No comments: