Today, we are celebrating Labor Day nationwide by spending time with family and friends at BBQs, having fun outside as the summer ends, and reflecting on American workers' accomplishments.
Growing up, I celebrated Labor Day by doing all of those things, but the most important part of every Labor Day Weekend was, without question, “The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.”
I watched the telethon religiously every Labor Day Weekend for over thirty years. I looked forward to every year, and I loved it. My love for the telethon only grew as the years went by because my love for Jerry Lewis grew as I got older.
Jerry’s last telethon was in 2010, and even though the event continued for a few years after Jerry’s departure, it was never the same. As a result, the telethon was canceled in 2015, and Labor Day has never been the same.
Now, I could write an entire post simply about “The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon,” and it would be very lengthy, but because Jerry is always on my mind at this time of year, I’ve chosen to write about Jerry Lewis’ best movies here.
Let me preface this by saying I adore Jerry Lewis…. truly adore the man. I loved him when I was a kid watching his goofy movies and his crazy antics on TV and laughing my butt off. Then, I loved him even more as I grew older and learned more about the artist behind the antics.
Jerry Lewis was not only a gloriously talented entertainer, comedian, host, actor, and clown, but he was also easily one of the best and most important filmmakers in cinema's history.
His contributions and innovations to the world of film are huge. The man INVENTED the video playback system that every filmmaker on the planet uses and has used for decades, and that’s just one of the things he accomplished.
Like Chaplin and Keaton before him, he was an extraordinary writer/director/actor whose films were not only consistently brilliant but also influenced a massive number of brilliant directors, including Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, David Lynch, and Pedro Almodovar.
In short, the French were right.
I put together a list of my five favorite Jerry Lewis movies with a few stipulations. I only included films that he not only starred in but also directed, which means GREAT movies like “The King of Comedy,” “Funny Bones,” “Arizona Dream,” “Cinderfella,” “Rock-a-Bye Baby,” and “Who’s Minding the Store” (the last three directed by the brilliant Frank Tashlin) are not included.
Also not included are the films he did with his partner Dean Martin. Some of them, like “Sailor Beware,” “Scared Stiff,” “Money from Home,” “Living it Up,” and ESPECIALLY “Artists and Models” and “Hollywood or Bust,” are extraordinary.
So, with that in mind, here is my list of The Top 5 Best Jerry Lewis Movies of All Time (in order of preference):
This is Jerry’s masterpiece, plain and simple. It’s his most personal film and one of his most experimental, with wildly original camera work, stunning photography, and superb editing that echo the work of French New Wave directors like Godard, Rivette, and Melville. It is also as brutally funny as a movie can get.
It’s Lewis’ version of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” But instead of becoming a physically repulsive beast, the nerdy professor transforms into a suave, confident, and handsome ladies’ man who is just as nasty as Mr. Hyde (perhaps even worse), and even more dangerous.
Loaded with a ton of hilarious scenes and the very funny sight gags you’d expect from Lewis, this movie also contains some truly disturbing moments in which Lewis confronts his demons as a split personality and egotistical control freak.
Some interpret the evil “Buddy Love” character as a slam against his former partner, Dean (and there is a sliver of truth to that). Still, it is really Jerry exposing himself to the audience and doing some serious self-reflection and soul-searching. It’s a stunningly honest piece of work that not only makes you laugh but also makes you squirm.
Eddie Murphy's surprisingly good remake from 1996 is fun, but it's not even in the same ballpark as Lewis' film because the original remains one of the best American films ever made.
2) THE PATSY
Personally, this is my favorite Jerry Lewis movie of all time… but I had to put “The Nutty Professor” at number one.
In “The Patsy,” Jerry plays a bellhop who a heartless group of Hollywood insiders recruits to replace a recently deceased entertainer and be groomed to become a star despite being a bumbling idiot with no discernible talent.
What follows is a blistering satire of Hollywood, the music business, and television that can stand proudly next to “Wag the Dog” or “The Player." Truthfully, it’s better than both of those movies combined.
It also features an incredible cast that includes Everett Sloan, Phil Harris, Keenan Wynn, Peter Lorre, John Carradine, Hans Conried (who is featured in the film’s most hilarious scene), Richard Deacon, Scatman Crothers, Nancy Kulp, Neil Hamilton, with cameos (as themselves) by Hedda Hopper, George Raft, Mel Torme, Ed Wynn, Rhonda Fleming, and The Four Step Brothers.
Yeah, it’s pretty amazing.
This is the Jerry Lewis movie that makes me laugh harder than any of his other films. From the beginning (with an extended bit involving ice cubes that segues into the funniest opening credits sequence ever filmed) to the end, “The Patsy” is just hilarious, and it’s the film that I go back to the most when I want to laugh.
Simple set-up, extraordinary execution.
Jerry plays Herbert H. Heebert, a young man who loses his girlfriend, swears off romance, and takes a job at a woman-only boarding house, and insanity ensues.
Many things make this movie special, from the beautifully executed sight gags to the corny but wonderful message of acceptance (the true recurring theme of most of Lewis’ work) to the great use of music (another strength in Jerry’s movies) and more.
But it’s the technical achievements and innovations utilized during the production that make this one a real standout.
The video playback unit was invented on the set of this film (although he used a primitive fly-by-night version on “The Bellboy”), and speaking of sets, the set for “The Ladies Man” is one of the most complicated, expensive, and impressive ever built.
The set consisted of a four-story dollhouse-like interior with a central courtyard in front so that Lewis could choreograph elaborate crane shots and stage sequences of stunning complexity. It was 177 feet deep, 154 feet wide, and 36 feet high. At the time, it was the largest and most expensive set ever built on the Paramount studio lot.
The result of all of this work was not only absolutely hilarious but breathtaking to watch…. it’s also just ridiculously funny.
Very similar to “The Patsy” in that it’s a potent Hollywood satire (only in black and white), this movie stars Jerry as a goofy wallpaper hanger hired by the cheap head of a studio to spy on his employees. What follows is basically a series of sight gags, jokes, and sketches that are all incredibly funny and smart.
There are HUGE laughs in this film, including a classic bit in which Jerry pretends to be leading a meeting in a large empty boardroom. He lights a cigar, acts like a big Hollywood honcho, and mimes the entire meeting, which is choreographed with the incredible big band score of Walter Schaffer. It’s magic.
“The Errand Boy” is also a great example of Lewis’ trademark use of his “holding for a laugh” style of comedy, in that he will take his sweet time with a gag and wait very long to hit the punchline. There are many examples of this style throughout this film and in his other films.
Jerry was known for his persistence in getting a laugh, meaning that if a gag didn’t work (on stage, on TV, or in a movie), he would MAKE it work. He was known for doing absolutely nothing until an audience would finally laugh. Sometimes, it took forever, but he’d go through with it—ballsy, brazen, genius.
5) THE BELLBOY
This film, his directorial debut, was a truly important one for many, many reasons.
He consulted Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel, who gave him sound advice on filming and working in pantomime (Lewis’ character never speaks in the film). Jerry also talked to Hitchcock and his old friend Frank Tashlin for encouragement. And it worked.
The video assist system that would officially be named on the set of “The Ladies Man” was experimented with here, as was the use of long takes, simple single camera setups, and efficient lighting design to make the shots quick.
Lewis famously shot this film over a few weeks at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Florida while performing in the hotel's main room. He would film during the day, perform live at night, and not sleep at all.
It was an exhausting shoot that took a lot out of Lewis and was just as challenging for his co-stars and co-producers, who were convinced he would never be able to do it.
But he did it…. under budget, ahead of schedule—and it was an enormous hit. It secured his future as a director/auteur/producer and hotshot in Hollywood for years to come.
“The Bellboy” is also an unbelievably funny movie that moves from one brilliant gag to the next with barely any time to breathe between bits. Lewis’ performance is at the next level, and the execution of the gags is stunning. There are so many classic moments in this movie that it’s impossible to narrow it down to just a few (Jerry showing up in a dual role as himself is one of my favorite stretches in the film), so let’s say that “The Bellboy” is a laugh-riot from beginning to end and the auspicious start of a remarkable directorial career.
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