PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Cody One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

classicsoncall Apart from the 'Road' movies, I never realized how many bad films Bob Hope appeared in. I can't imagine what might have possessed him to take on projects like "Call Me Bwana" (1963) or "How to Commit Marriage" (1969), yet here's another one from the Sixties that just tries one's patience and attention span. Hope's one-liners fall short of the humor mark, and there's some real groan inducing dialog written for some of the other principals. How about this one coming from Frankie Avalon's character Kenny Klinger to Swedish date Marti (Rosemarie Frankland), commenting on his fractured romance with JoJo (Tuesday Weld) - "She's a pint, you're a full quart". Good grief.In an apparent attempt to bridge the generational divide and prevent his daughter from 'taking a stab at holy deadlock' (another nifty Avalon line), Bob Holcomb (Hope) offers to represent his company in Sweden and takes JoJo along for the assignment. The plan backfires when Erik Carlson (Jeremy Slate) shows up as Bob's European assistant and part time travel guide. A committed single on the prowl, Erik spends most of his time trying to entice JoJo into pre-marital bliss. The story then relies on some contrived situations and coincidences designed to help JoJo see the error of her ways and back into the arms of her former boyfriend.Had Dina Merrill not been cast here as Bob Holcomb's love interest to add some class to the story I hazard to think what might have come of the whole thing. I'd be interested for example, in what Frankie Avalon makes of his performance here with the hindsight of half a century. Most of his scenes struck me as rather embarrassing, especially the ones where he shimmies and shakes to his own vocals. As if that weren't enough, check out his arrival in Sweden wearing a yellow shirt and pink jacket - sheer 'L-7' all the way.

wes-connors Wise-cracking widower Bob Hope (as Robert "Bob" Holcomb) arrives home to discover his pretty blonde daughter Tuesday Weld (as JoJo Holcomb) is engaged to pseudo-rock 'n' roll singer Frankie Avalon (as Kenny Klinger). Mr. Avalon has dropped put of college, rides a motorcycle, lives in a small trailer, and takes Ms. Weld out to strip clubs. Hope is horrified. In order to get Weld away from Avalon, he accepts a job transfer to Stockholm. There, Hope discovers a Swedish custom regarding pre-marital sex...We are told, in order to determine how well they are "suited for each other," Swedes have sex before getting married. This insures a low divorce rate. Hope romances attractive Dina Merrill (as Karin Granstedt Martoni) and Weld prepares to lose her virginity during a two week vacation with playboy Jeremy Slate (as Erik Carlson). Hope declares, "Nobody's gonna chalk up any mileage on JoJo without getting a driver's license first!" To make Weld change her mind, Hope contacts Avalon in America...Avalon returns to the storyline and gives the film a final burst of energy. The highlight is his performance of "I'll Take Sweden, Ya Ya Ya!" In brief blue swim trunks, Avalon gyrates around a boatyard, attracting Rosemarie Frankland in a white bikini. The beauty queen with obvious assets moved from Hope (one of the comedian's many alleged companions) to Grass Roots singer Warren Entner. Avalon was no longer selling rock 'n' roll records, but he is funnier and more appealing than all others, herein.****** I'll Take Sweden (6/2/65) Frederick de Cordova ~ Bob Hope, Frankie Avalon, Tuesday Weld, Dina Merrill

mitcj In rattling off one lame joke after another, persevering like a stevedore in the face of his time slipping away, cocky crooked grin intact, Hope approaches depths of surrealism that should've impressed Bunuel. When he tells Dina Merrill that he's never met an interior decorator with her exterior, and she reacts with a dewy smile, it's like cutting the eyeball in Un Chien Andalou. Meanwhile Frankie Avalon struts around like he's the Tom Cruise of his generation. Check out Frankie's astonishing, hip-gyrating 'I'll Take Sweden Ya Ya Ya' number and you'll swear someone slipped mescaline into your coffee. This is one of the all time great camp classics, awaiting its proper appreciation.

spizzmole23 Everyone should watch this film, not because it is funny (it isn't), but as a guide to show you what lengths studios & stars will go to cover up a stars physical flaw.Whenever Bob Hope is on screen not wearing a hat, there is an annoying shadow on top of his head. At first I thought this was just a case of a bad director shooting the shadow of a boom mike, but as this is present throughout the whole film, and the shadow is only on Hope's head, I figured out that is was their way of hiding the fact that Bob Hope was balding. I was fascinated by this, so much in fact, that I eventually tuned out the movie (a pretty easy feat), and just starting watching the shadow on Bob Hope's head.