Road to Zanzibar1941

Road to… And here in only the second film, Bob and Bing’s roles have been set in stone. Glimpses of it in the first film, but despite the fact that Bing still wins the girl in the end, they were much more evenly matched. Just two bums hiding out, pining for the same girl.  Here, the power dynamic that would become the strength of the series is clearly exhibited. Bing as the clever, handsome conman and Bob as the dopey “friend” (read: stooge). Bing gets his comeuppance but still wins in the end.  Pretty much everything about this movie is better than the first. Funnier jokes, a more entertaining plot, and better characters. Now, these aren’t super deep, thought-provoking films, and outside of Hope, Crosby and Lamour, there aren’t really “characters” so much as plot devices or props. Everything only exists to set up one gag or another.  This film has great songs and really funny bits, and the fourth wall breaking is definitely stronger though not quite reaching the peak of Road to Morocco.  Maybe I wouldn’t recommend this one as a first example, but it’s definitely worth watching.