A labored comedy that lurches from one silly set piece to the next, 1968's "Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River" is certainly middling Jerry Lewis at best. In this one, Jerry plays an American wheeler-dealer living in London who is so busy chasing after money and arranging schemes that his wife, the yummy Jacqueline Pearce, dumps him in disgust. To win her back, Jerry turns her family mansion into a Chinese disco (don't ask!) and arranges a deal with his sometimes-partner, the usually dependable Terry-Thomas, to steal the plans for a new oil drill and sell them to the Arabs. Many unfunny situations ensue, some of them painful. Lewis is a bit cooler here than usual, only occasionally lapsing into his trademark goofiness. Jerry & Terry would have made a good comedy team, but they DO need something better to work with. Anywaste, I originally rented this one out because I had so enjoyed Ms. Pearce's work in a pair of 1966 Hammer horror films, "The Plague of the Zombies" and "The Reptile," and she turns out to be a gifted comedic actress here. Other pleasant surprises include the presences of Margaret Nolan (so fondly remembered by fans of the movie "Goldfinger") and Patricia Routledge, almost 25 years before playing Hyacinth Bucket on the Britcom "Keeping Up Appearances." Still, despite some good folks in the cast, I think I only laffed once: when Jerry said that one of his mumps had just exploded (again, don't ask!). This is a film that will best be appreciated by those who are either very stoned, very young or, I suppose, very French!
