Artists and Models starts as one of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis' best comedies (even the songs are good!) that unfortunately falls short once a superfluous spy element is brought in, confusing the story. That's only toward the end, and it doesn't ruin the movie or put a stop to the laughs; it just makes it less than what it might have been.

Dean plays a cartoonist, and Jerry a writer. Both want to hit it big in New York. Lewis does a lot of hilarious clowning around. Director Frank Tashlin, who directed some weak Bob Hope vehicles, fared better with Martin and Lewis (and, later, some of Lewis' solo features). Tashlin was a former cartoonist, and his films are noted for their comic book look and feel. It's particularly appropriate and successful here, given the movie's subject matter.