The most significant film of Preston Sturges' legacy makes a case for itself in asserting the importance of comedy as an artform like no other work has. The concluding thoughts on entertainment being all some people have is a profound statement for one of the zaniest comedies of the 1940s. The tonal dichotomy of Sullivan's Travels may be hard to swallow at first, but the deftness with which Sturges balances the dramatic turns of the story is vital to selling the pathos of its themes and ideas concerning how entertainers can help the poor and downtrodden through their art. It's also just one of the funniest films ever made, brimming with Sturges' spoonfuls of tantalizingly salacious dialogue, expedient and expert delivery, and a good helping of physical gags to boot. One of the essential "movies about movies", Sullivan's Travels endures because of its optimistic look at the good of Hollywood without shying away from the racier aspects tucked between the biting dialogue provided by Sturges' unparalleled hands as Hollywood's preeminent Writer/Director.

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