Mexican Hayride

I don't know why people think so poorly of this film. Although it seems a little odd the way it begins in the middle of the story, it ticks along at a good rate; Pat Costello has an effective repartee with Lou, which is very interesting; Luba Malina, Fritz Feld, Sid Fields and Chris-Pin Martin are all funny. Costello is over the top, yet seems lovable and genuine in this movie. There are no gratuitous musical numbers to FF through, but there are a couple of comic musical numbers. It does not have the slow moments or the maudlin handling they had in "Little Giant" (which does have some good moments, by the way); Lou keeps things moving, and I can count 10 good skits off the top of my head--the one with Lou preparing tortillas has something close to a spectacular ending...if only the plot hadn't got in the way. Even the grand finale with a few rear-projections (and a "trained" bull) turns out pretty funny.

It's the logical extension of Abbott's character for him to be an all-around swindler, so that doesn't bother me; their teamwork is still top-rate, and I'm happy to see Costello get the better of Abbott once in a while. It's also relieving that in this context (and maybe an off-screen agreement?), Abbott refrains from slapping Costello, which would make his character unacceptable.

So spend a few bucks and watch it on DVD. Not a classic, but a good Sunday afternoon comedy with two comedians still at their peak of performance. And that's not bad.