Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki

"Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki" is the last of the films in this series that starred Percy Kilbride as the title character, Pa Kettle. Considering the decline in quality, his choice to retire from films was not a bad one. Some fans of the series might really enjoy this one but others will probably just find it bizarre and ill-conceived.

When the film begins, you learn that over the years Pa Kettle has been corresponding with a cousin who now lives in Hawaii. The cousin is very successful and used to court Ma before she married...so Pa is trying to impress him with letters filled with all sorts of lies which make him sound like a business tycoon. The cousin surprisingly believes this and when his business and health are tottering on the edge, he calls for Pa to come to Hawaii to help him turn the company's fortunes for the better.

I actually did enjoy many of the Ma and Pa Kettle films but this one is ample evidence that the series had jumped the shark. Why are these country bumpkins in Hawaii, after all? And, the ending involving a Kettle-like Hawaiian family and organized crime is just slopping and stupid. Overall, a major disappointment and perhaps the reason Kilbride decided to call it a day. Also, the film sat for two years before being released...evidence that the studio also knew this one was a turkey.

"Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki" is a fun movie. It's a solid entry in the series. There are quite a few laughs and a ton of goodwill. As usual, Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride deliver the goods. The both get a lot of laughs. The supporting cast is good too. At 79 minutes "Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki" doesn't come close to wearing out its welcome. I enjoyed this installment and I plan on watching it again real soon.

This happens to be my personal favorite in the entire "Ma and Pa Kettle" series. I especially loved how the Kettle's met the Lotuses, a Hawaiian family, which is almost a mirror image of their own (the only differences are there are only twelve Lotus children as opposed to the fifteen Kettle kids and they aren't as rowdy as Ma and Pa's brood). Unfortunately, this is also the last appearance of Percy Kilbride in the role of Pa Kettle. His gentle humor was one of the ingredients that helped make this series what it was and after he left the series went downhill from there. At least he went out on a high note with this film.

Although this was the last movie that Pa Kettle was in it was a funny one. When Pa Kettle gets kidnapped and Ma starts looking for him it is so funny how after a while she is pulling the two wheeled cart that the local boy was once pulling her in. Then it gets really funny when both Ma and Pa meet that native lady and her husband who have 12 children. I think that native man and his wife are Hawaian versions of Ma and Pa because the Husband is as lazy as Pa Kettle and the Wife is as hard working as Ma Kettle. Plus the Children of the two native people match up to the 12 younger Kettle children because both sets of children have weapons to fight with. The Kettle Children have the Sling Shots to shoot with and the Hawaian children have things to trow coconuts with. This is one funny movie that should be watched over and over.

I wonder why there is such a persistent tradition in movies to depict low class folks comically.

Its usually done with apparent sympathy to the honest or simple values of our rubes, and the only people treated harshly are the rich (and bankers). "Beverly Hillbillies" was the extreme, I guess.

But the root of the thing is a sort of white minstrel mentality. While we chuckle over the dumbness (and in this case laziness) of these trailer park dummies (who seem to do nothing but rut and make more), isn't the point that we are superior?

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.