Cocoanut Grove

"Cocoanut Grove" is an enjoyable rags to possible riches story. In the mix are a variety of songs which I surprisingly enjoyed and some light comedy.

The story begins with a bandleader and his band out of work. Johnny (Fred MacMurray) has the bright idea of heading to California with the band, as there is a possible opening coming up for a band like his. But they have no money, so they go on the cheap...a roadtrip through America. Once they arrive, however, they find things aren't quite as easy as they'd hoped.

This film is very lightweight--with a slight story and lots of singing. Normally this would spell death for the movie from me except something odd happened in this film...I found I actually LIKED all the singing and music. There were quite a few snappy tunes and I found myself humming along a few times. Well worth seeing.

By the way, Harriet Nelson (Ozzie's wife) is in the film but Ozzie isn't....which seems unusual as they were married and later became America's favorite family with "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet". Interestingly, Johnny mentions Ozzie Nelson in the film, as Ozzie was a famous and successful bandleader himself at the time.