Steineded How sad is this?

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

utgard14 The last Abbott & Costello film. I feel like this would be bittersweet knowing that, no matter the quality. That it's not a good movie just makes it more depressing. The plot has Lou trying to adopt a couple of kids and Bud as a gambler in trouble with racketeers. None of this is fun. Of the two, Lou comes out best at trying to recapture the past magic. He doesn't totally succeed but there are moments at least. Bud seems tired, even zoned out in some scenes, and his voice is raspy which just gave me a case of the sads. This would be the last movie Bud made. Lou would do one solo movie before dying three years after this was released. The adoption part of the plot makes this whole film seem like a TV pilot instead of a regular A&C comedy. Also, there's quite a bit of corny 1950s teenager stuff, mocking the lingo and the music and so on. It's low-hanging fruit and even then the film can't get any laughs. That's this movie's main sin - it's just not funny. I didn't laugh once. Smiled a couple times but no laughs. Besides the failed comedy, there's quite a bit of serious stuff that's really more saccharine than dramatically challenging for anyone involved. All in all, it's not the worst movie I've ever seen but certainly the worst Abbott & Costello movie I've seen.

classicsoncall Sad, very sad. I was a big time Abbott and Costello fan as a kid growing up in the Fifties, never missing an opportunity to catch one of their films on TV. The 'Monster' films were the best and they had others that entertained, but "Dance With Me, Henry" was a disappointing swan song. I never saw this one before today, so maybe my judgment would be a little different if I had some wistful memory of it from back in the day. Just about everything that made the comedy team click is missing here. There's no snappy dialog, none of the familiar routines, and the pair are completely out of character from their previous pairings. Lou is cast as a good guy, an adoptive Dad who's trying to raise a couple of kids while running an amusement park called Candyland. Bud on the other hand is an alcoholic and a gambler, so right out of the gate there's no basis for the type of comedy that the boys built their careers on. Occasional forays into slapstick get muddled by the story line involving gangsters and the murder of a district attorney, not exactly the kind of light hearted fare that A&C fans would have been used to. The picture is at it's best near the finale when a boat load of youngsters get involved in frustrating the bad guys at Candyland and saving the day for Lou and his young wards. The young boy Duffer I immediately recognized as Rusty Hamer from the Danny Thomas series 'Make Room For Daddy'. Checking the IMDb profile for Gigi Perreau, daughter Shelley in the story, I was surprised to see that she's still active with a film credit as recently as 2011. If you're an Abbott and Costello fan, I wouldn't try to steer you away from the movie because it's not terrible, it's just not very entertaining. Personally, I'll keep my fond memories of the boys from their earlier pictures where they delighted millions of fans all over the world.

MartinHafer After seeing DANCE WITH ME HENRY and reading the reviews, I think folks have been way too kind to this film. I am sure most of it is because they love Abbott and Costello and so they want to love the film or at least treat it with great reverence because of this. I myself have seen every Abbott and Costello film and wanted to like this film, too, but can't bring myself to say anything nice about DANCE WITH ME HENRY.The problem is that the script from start to finish is painfully unfunny. Now making a more serious film was not really the problem. LITTLE GIANT, after all, was a rather serious Abbott and Costello film and while the fans didn't like it, the film was well made and entertaining. If you see it today with an open mind, you can't help but appreciate the writing and especially Lou Costello's acting. However, not being funny is only the tip of the iceberg with DANCE WITH ME HENRY. The more serious problem is that the film is 100% saccharine--too sickeningly sweet for consumption. Watching this film could easily send diabetics into comas--it's THAT over-the-top sweet. With all the cute little kids and with a whole new persona for Lou Costello (sort of like a social worker and Pied Piper rolled into one), it's very sticky going. In this film, Lou isn't dumb at all--but the owner of "Happyland" amusement park who adores kids and takes in two orphans. Now I know I'll upset a few people with this observation, but isn't this all a bit creepy?! A single man devotes his life to hanging around kids, owning an amusement park, taking in kids.....this sounds very, very weird--like a recruitment film for pedophiles. I am sure that was NOT the intentions of the film makers but here in the 21st century, I could easily see people getting that impression--how could they not?! Please rest assured I do not hate Abbott and Costello. My comments are more because I am frustrated that this film was so bad and all attempts at humor were out the window. You can't just say Bud and Lou were old and they couldn't do any better. Remember, the year before they made ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (I gave this one an 8) and ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY (I gave this one a 7). So, they were capable of still being funny and entertaining and still had a lot to give. Too bad they had such an awful script and you wonder what Bud and Lou thought about this. Could they have wanted it to end this way? Overall, here's how I see the film: Bud's acting (5), Lou's acting (4), the direction/timing in the film (2) and the writing (-5). You just can't make a good comedy with a bum script and indifferent directing. They deserved better than this--and so did the audience.

steve5plums Dance With Me Henry was Abbott and Costello's last movie together and because of that I felt it was interesting to watch. Was it a good movie for Abbott and Costello? Not really as I would rate it as only fair. However, I don't judge it as harshly as others. I thought Lou Costello looked pretty good in the movie, but it was Bud Abbott who looked a little wore out. I don't blame Bud so much because I believe his part was poorly written. He wasn't able to get into that playful verbal banter that made the boys famous because his part of a gambler seemed kind of awkward for what was going on in the movie. Overall, I think this movie should be watched by Abbott and Costello fans just to see the boys in their final movie even though most would rank it lower than most of their other movies.