Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis may be a relative nonentity to some younger filmgoers, but senior movie buffs remember him as a big comedy film star in the ’50s and onwards, whose zany costarrers with partner, Dean Martin, were hearty hits in Hollywood.
To many, Lewis personified “physical” and “slapstick” comedy, his signature “goon face” and expression of cretinous befuddlement vivifying a long-gone era when over-the-top comedy was king.
Comedy buffs prefer less obvious and wittier screen humor these days, but Lewis’ recent passing at the ripe, old age of 91 should not be dismissed as a feckless footnote.
After all, many viewers may look down on “silly slapstick,” but others love it for what it is, as long as the laughs keep coming.
And you can’t argue against Lewis’ string of hot hits—including “The Nutty Professor,” “Cinderfella,” “The Sad Sack,” “The King of Comedy,” “Hardly Working,” and “The Delicate Delinquent”—especially when his contemporaries’ “better” efforts bombed big-time at the tills.
Yes, many of them are shallow and obvious, but their popularity means acceptability, which says a lot about where moviegoers are coming from.
Even more impressively, Lewis’ “loud and obvious” starrers are feted in France, which is supposed to be the land of sophistication and erudition.
In fact, some French cineastes hail Lewis as a cinematic genius, an admirable auteur at the same elevated level as Jean-Luc Godard! Are they puckishly pulling our collective legs?
Not so, say some French reviewers, who praise Lewis for being a “corrosive satirist.” They also appreciate the fact that, in some of his starrers, he did much more than just act, he had a key hand in multiple production and creative areas, like Charlie Chaplin.
“The Nutty Professor” is regarded as one of Lewis’ finest works as writer, director and star. His work in it is lauded for its “audacious” use of color, as well as some creative “sonic effects.”
In truth, Eddie Murphy also loved the film so much that he did a remake of it as his homage to Lewis. And, the original was even “elevated” to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry—no less!
Are they telling us something we should think about some more?
Other cineastes second the motion, adding their own laudatory encomiums about Lewis’ filmic oeuvre, including his technical innovations, like his pioneering use of video playbacks.
Others even declare, “Lewis is one of the best directors of the 1960s!”
There’s much less controversy when it comes to Lewis’ noncareer achievements, paced by his humanitarian efforts, especially his decades-long advocacy to raise funds to find a cure for muscular dystrophy.
He raised billions of dollars, and was honored in 2009 with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 81st Academy Awards.
Thanks, Jerry, for the hearty laughs and heartfelt help to so many needy kids!