It May be Hard to Believe Revisiting Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Today, as a Musical-Comedy Team They were Once Considered the Cream of 1950's Entertainment. Immensely Popular and Rolling Along with the Highest of Salaries these Two Mediocre Talents were what Passed for Genius in the World of Light Entertainment in the Eisenhower Era.
They weren't Bad but Great is not an Adjective that comes Immediately to Mind. Popular is More Like it, and Popular They Were. They Must have had Something because the Box-Office Cash Registers Rung and the Duo were in Demand on TV, Nightclubs, and in the Movies.
This Movie is just One More of the Mediocrities that the Team Produced that was Formulaic to the Extreme and Hardly a Stretch for the Performers. Jerry can get Laughs but the Ego Never Fails to get Involved. For Example, He couldn't let Dino be the Crooner, Lewis had to Sing and Sing a lot. He even had to Weasel in on "That's Amore" with His Obnoxious Whine.
It is Possible that if Lewis could have just let Things Unfold Naturally with the Strengths of the Two, They could have been even More Respected Critically, Better Remembered, and Possibly the Act would have Stayed Together Much Longer.
But Jerry Lewis could Not Help Himself. So in this OK Movie He Warbles Songs and does Everything He can to Upstage not Only Dean but the Whole Movie. Even Donna Reed is Wasted in a Pitifully Bland Role, Fresh off an Oscar. The Fat Man Yucking it Up at Jerry in Every Turn is a Prime Example of the Self Congratulatory Lewis.
They weren't Bad but Great is not an Adjective that comes Immediately to Mind. Popular is More Like it, and Popular They Were. They Must have had Something because the Box-Office Cash Registers Rung and the Duo were in Demand on TV, Nightclubs, and in the Movies.
This Movie is just One More of the Mediocrities that the Team Produced that was Formulaic to the Extreme and Hardly a Stretch for the Performers. Jerry can get Laughs but the Ego Never Fails to get Involved. For Example, He couldn't let Dino be the Crooner, Lewis had to Sing and Sing a lot. He even had to Weasel in on "That's Amore" with His Obnoxious Whine.
It is Possible that if Lewis could have just let Things Unfold Naturally with the Strengths of the Two, They could have been even More Respected Critically, Better Remembered, and Possibly the Act would have Stayed Together Much Longer.
But Jerry Lewis could Not Help Himself. So in this OK Movie He Warbles Songs and does Everything He can to Upstage not Only Dean but the Whole Movie. Even Donna Reed is Wasted in a Pitifully Bland Role, Fresh off an Oscar. The Fat Man Yucking it Up at Jerry in Every Turn is a Prime Example of the Self Congratulatory Lewis.