BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

TheLittleSongbird 'Holiday in Mexico' may not be a great film, but it is good at what it set out to do, doesn't try to be any more than it is and knows exactly what it wants to be.Its weak link is the thin and insipid story, the first half being almost plot less, which also suffers from draggy pacing that is especially uninteresting in the scenes between Roddy McDowell and Jane Powell that dominate too much of the second half. The overlong length, not unusual in George Sidney's 1940s films. McDowell has an annoying caricature character, and not only does he do little with it but he does grate somewhat.There is so much to enjoy about 'Holiday in Mexico' on the other hand. Even with not much authentic Mexico in sight, being on the most part more Culver City soundstage than Mexico, it is a lovely looking film, being beautifully shot in rich colour and handsomely produced. The music is similarly great, with a mix of pleasant songs and the divine piano music of Chopin and Rachmaninov masterfully played by Jose Iturbi, in every film he appeared in his piano playing was some of the finest on film.Scripting is not exceptional, but sweet and amusing and nowhere near as trite as the story. The bittersweet romance between Ilona Massey and Walter Pidgeon has been criticised, to me it had a lot of affecting charm. Other great things are the knockout piano choreography and the clever animated title sequence, courtesy of Hanna-Barbera, that is the most evocative of Mexico that 'Holiday in Mexico' gets.Powell is very charming and sings beautifully, and while Massey is not as natural an actress she is still likable enough. Iturbi and Xavier Cugat add enormously to the film and Pidgeon is similarly likable. Sidney directs with competence.All in all, lots of fun and charm though not without its flaws. 7/10 Bethany Cox

westegg I'm a bit late to this discussion, but the reviewer who kept harping on Powell not being an actress makes no sense. She carries herself quite well; of course she can act. Geez--she's charming and handles the role well. Someone who can't act would come across as a clueless amateur. Powell did just fine here and elsewhere. Look at SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS.Oh yeah, and ROYAL WEDDING. Powell did well opposite many a Hollywood star. Anyway, even though this movie is hardly among the classics, it's a fine showcase for Powell.

bill-790 Randall Brandt is exactly right. This is a "Holiday in Mexico"? Produced by MGM at the height of its power, glory, not to mention financial resources, and yet the darned thing never gets outside a Culver City sound stage? Couldn't they at least have sent a camera crew to Mexico City to film some establishing shots in the major thoroughfares, parks, museums, etc.? Very disappointing.This might just as well have been titled "Holiday in Burbank." As to the story, it's flimsy at best. In its favor is the rich Technicolor photography which has never been equaled, plus some good musical numbers. The cast is good, with Walter Pidgeon in his most ambassadorial form as the father of the spunky young Jane Powell. Jose Iturbi and his sister play some great piano, as well!Worth viewing, though at 128 minutes it's a bit long. "Holiday in Mexico" is an example of how Hollywood used to view (or didn't view) other countries.

Rand-Al Now we know where Taco Bell got its idea for a talking chihuahua! During one of the overblown musical numbers by Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra, Cugat's chihuahua gets to look into the camera and speak his own lines -- in Spanish and English! Supposedly set in Mexico City, the film displays a marked lack of local color.