[.ca] Road to Hong Kong (Widescreen)

Watch it for Peter Sellers short but stellar bit!:
This isn't nearly as bad as often made out to be. For one thing these guys were ALWAYS to old for these antics, otherwise they would have been making them in the 1930s. By this time their timing was down pat & frankly the writing here seemed a lot sharper than the previous entries. But the real reason to watch this is a terrific hilarious & all too brief turn by Peter Sellers as an Indian doctor that is as funny as anything Sellers or anyone else ever did on screen.

Road to Hong Kong:
Definetly not the best of the Road pictures but mildly entertaining and worth having to complete the Road collection. Both Crosby and Hope are noticably older and really don't have the magic with Joan Collins like they did with Dorothy Lamour and the jokes are trying to be funny instead of just being funny.

I loved it!:
I know that many people consider this the worst of the Road movies, but I would consider it my favorite. While dissapointed in not having Dorothy in there more than just a cameo appearance, I think the rest of the movie makes up for it! The banana feeding scene was the best! (Hope and Crosby being tested in place of the monkeys on the spaceship) This movie also had some other good cameo appearances.

Hillarious, My Family Constantly Quotes This Film!:
most often left out of lists of the popular "road to. . ." movies is road to hong kong. many people don't like it, but it is my favorite, it actually has a plot! (until the very end where it gets kind of odd) the story is about harry turner and chester babcock, con artists who, when the film begins, are on the eve of their newest scheme. they have hundreds of paying investors into an innovation that is supposed to use this rocket space suit thing and cause someone to fly. when the "brave native" that was supposed to demonstrate the suit backs out, turner and babcock have to come up with a plan. turner forces babcock in the suit and chester ends up flying through the roof of the warehouse where the demonstration is being held. poor chester. next we see harry visiting babcock in the hospital discovering that chester has lost his memory. he doesn't remember what girls are and what he did with them, what money is and what he did with it, and he can't even remember his own name. The former two seem to be of great concern to him. harry feels terrible and takes chester to the best doctors he can find. a few of them tell him about a monestary where a memory herb is used. harry and chester find that this story is true and go to the airport. it is at the airport that they meet up with diane, a secret agent for a group called the third eschelon. she thinks that chester is her contact and gives him a secret formula that is needed to send a rocket into space. this third group apparently wants to beat russia and the u.s. to space and threaten to drop bombs on them unless they don't accept rule under their force. at any rate, i won't reveal too much, but it is a very very funny film -- especially the bannana scene. i laugh so hard each time i see it. to me the chemistry of hope and crosby is at its finest. if you love the other road movies, then maybe you will not like this departure -- but there is so much more of the "real world" woven into this pic, you cannot help but love it. also, peter sellers' cameo is fabulous as an insane doctor, so buy this film or rent it today. (i have it on vhs but am waiting impatiently for a DVD version to come out, I wonder why they haven't released it) oh, and there are of course some sterotypes in the film, but don't let them offend you and enjoy the chemistry of the characters!

Beware if you have a widescreen TV...:
This is a fine presentation and packaging of the seventh (and weakest) of the Crosby-Hope "Road" series. True fans will want this for their collection, and I agree that Hong Kong is not as bad as it is often portrayed. In the era of Austin Powers, this film actually picks up some points for kitch; it was arguably the first spoof of the '60s spy thriller. But there is one very unfortunate flaw in this DVD version. Even though this is the first release of this movie in widescreen, this DVD is not optimized for widescreen televisions. So if you have a wdiescreen TV this movie will appear letterboxed on all four sides, the frame of the picture will not fill out your widescreen from left to right. This is an infuriating lapse on the part of MGM.