As a twelve-year old, this movie was completely hilarious. Me and my brothers laughed so loud, we cried tears; our cheeks hurt! Now, the only use for this film is sleep inducement. The "jokes" are totally predictable and corny. The set-up situations are so obvious, it hurts to watch. The only funny skit was when Jerry was wedged between that arguing couple.
shareHard to believe that ANYONE--even a kid, fifty years ago--ever thought any Jerry Lewis movies were funny. Painful! And they haven't improved with age. His films make a Lancelot Link rerun look like top-grade Billy Wilder.
shareWatching it right now on Netflix. Loved it as a kid, now in my 40s, still has lots of funny moments.
shareFor a film shot in four weeks... it is pretty darned good.
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AND his first time as director.
Disney had it one time where the whole strip club sequence was missing, not that there was anything there worth cutting as most of the scene is a comedy act.
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Jerry did not make movies for adults he made for kids and adults that remembered the old slap stick movies, yes the movies are dated for the 21st century but they there are parts that are genius.
shareCall me crazy, but I love the fact that Lewis DOES setup/telegraph his gags. Sometimes I can "read" what the payoff will be, many times I can't. But he's only following in the footsteps of classic comedians, who continually set up the audience, as in "Uh, oh, there's lots of cable and extension cords on the floor. You just KNOW (fill in the blank) will get tangled in them." And then, the comic DOESN"T get entangled.
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"
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I just watched this and indeed it is not only totally unfunny, but painfully embarrassing. You would think out of about two dozen gags you would get at least one that was funny; without even trying hard, even.
I've had many spontaneous adlibbed exchanges and or one-liners with people that contained way more humor within a second or two than the entire humor content of this movie.
Mimics are an important aspect of slapstick or comedy in general. Here Jerry Lewis annihilates any possibility of comedy because his mimics and gestures are way too forced, nonsensical, repetitious, obnoxious and, do i need to add, totally unfunny.
Even funny gags lose value quickly if stretched too long. Just think what can happen when unfunny gags are stretched needlessly. Well, you get The Bellboy.
Some movies are not very funny and hence a viewver with such expectations may slightly become bored and not be satisfied by what they have seen. The Bellboy is in a class of its own. I'll say it one more time: close to 0 percent humor content + excruciatingly obnoxious and embarrassing for anyone involved, including the viewer. It was really hard to sit through.
As a frame of reference, I love Laurel & Hardy, The Marx Bros. and various other stuff that is OLD.
I rewatched the film last night after maybe 6-7 years. I liked it even more than I used to! Could be because slapstick has become a lost art/skill. Lewis was one of the best physical comics ever, I don't care what any "sophisticated" digital-age viewer says. And seeing the likes of Joe E. Lewis, Buddy Lester, B.S. Pully and H.S. Gump made me ecstatic.
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?
You say the jokes are "predictable" now. Well, of course they are--you've already seen the movie.