Review of Sullivan's Travels (61)

Plot
John Sullivan, a successful director of comedy films, decides to make a film about the troubles of the downtrodden poor. Much to the chagrin of his producers, he sets off in tramp's clothing with a single dime in his pocket to experience poverty first-hand.

Jason's Thoughts
After seeing the first few minutes of Sullivan's Travels, I began to think that we were going to be in for a long night.  Comedy has changed over the years and I guessing that a trio of characters talking fast to one another without a single pause in between sentences was comedic gold in the 1940's, but it really started to wear on my nerves.  Thankfully, only the first few scenes were like that and the movie got better from there.

After all of the fast-talk, we realize that John Sullivan wants to act and live like a hobo to get inspiration for a socially relevant drama about human suffering.  His travels are a constant source of laughter while a underlying message is slowly coming out.  While watching a Mickey Mouse cartoon with some inmates on a chain gang and an underprivileged black church congregation, he realizes that a film about human suffering is not what people want to see and that laughter is a means of escape for people of all kinds.

Sullivan's Travels was another one of the few movies that I had not heard of before seeing this list, however, unlike a few others before it, I actually enjoyed this movie.  Not all of the comedy in the movie is great but it does make a wonderful point on the healing power of laughter.

Crystal's Thoughts
I was worried things were going to go back downhill again after American Graffiti.  As I read the description of this film on the Netflix sleeve, I saw the date 1942, and Jason noted it was in black and white.  We haven't seen a black and white in a while and the last time we did, it was a catastrophe called Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  Thank goodness, Sullivan's Travels was nothing to fear after all.

The film was a light, quick paced show once Sullivan manages to get himself out of Hollywood.  Like the character though, you need to look deeper into the movie to see the meaning behind it.  Sullivan has lived an easy life all his life and is a director basing his films on comedy.  He wants into another side though, the lives of the poor and homeless, mainly because he doesn't understand it.  He never truly does during his little experiment, which I think showed that unless you experience something for real in life, you never can fully grasp it.  He has his true life experience though which makes him realize comedy is actually important in his films because for those from good walks of life and bad, it brings a smile to your face and true happiness, even if it only lasts as long as a film.

While I do not feel this film is a huge impact in the movie world, in 1942 it would have shown different sides of life to one another.  The rich got a glimpse into the poor, while the poor were able to see that some really do want to see what it is like and help if they can.  It was also eye-opening to see how even those with nothing will help those worse off than them.  I would certainly categorize Sullivan's Travels as a comedy with good laughs throughout, but it also provides a message as it took a deeper look into two worlds through different sets of eyes.

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