Two Tickets to Paris

Joey Dee and the Starlighters were a New Jersey-based pop group of the 1950s and 60s. They had a #1 hit with "Peppermint Twist."

Lead singer Joey Dee starred in two films. This is his second and last film. The title refers to Dee and his intended bride, Piper (Jeri Lynn Frazer) taking an ocean liner to France where he has been hired to sing, even though they are not married. Unmarried, iper's mama (Jeri Archer) consents if they take a chaperon. Stuck with this job is the droll Kay Medford as Aggie.

Onboard the ship, they get involved in an ongoing spat between a French girl named Coco (Lisa James) and her dumb boyfriend (Richard Dickens). Piper gets jealous and so she sidles up to an older lounge singer (Gary Crosby) to make Joey jealous.

That's it. That's the whole plot. Along the way, Joey Dee sings several songs that have the general population going crazy doing the twist. Crosby, Frazer, and even Medford also get to sing numbers. None of the songs are memorable.

Notable among the non-sailing members of the cast are Jeri Archer as the mother. She made only a handful of films in the 1960s but was immortalized as the model for the character Belle Poitrine in the best-selling novel "Little Me." Photos of Belle were interspersed among the chapters of this famous fake biography. Also of note in the first major film role for Charles Nelson Reilly as Claypoole the dress designer in the opening sequence.

A time capsule to be sure, especially for those devotees of the twist.

If your feeling like early 60's nastalga, enjoyed "The Twist" and the swing era, this movie will hold something for you. The movie seems nothing more than a vessel for "The Starlighters" and their songs, which were charting well. The dancing by Joey Dee is a treat. The rest of the movie is a "B" grade, wholesome affair, the acting is bearable, though once I got a few minutes into the movie and picked up on the plot I was able to look past the self conscious acting and started to enjoy where the movie was taking me.

Jeri Lynn Frazer was cute in her first of only a few rolls in movies, and her only leading roll.

Charles Nelson Reilly was at his wacky best, if not a few notches past.

Throw in some crooners, music from the era, some dancing, a boat trip and what should have been good jokes, ordinarily delivered and you have "Two Tickets to Paris"

You may enjoy this if you were around at the time and remember the culture.