Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis (2011)
**** (out of 4)
This excellent film works as a tribute to Jerry Lewis as we get an all-star group of actors talking about their love for the actor. It also works as a documentary because Lewis himself is interviewed and discusses the various stages of his life including his early days on the stage, the Martin & Lewis years, his solo Paramount films and of course his later career back up on the stage.
If you're a fan of Lewis then you're certainly going to love this documentary. There are clips from the majority of his movies shown and there's some terrific footage of Lewis, the director, working on various films including THE NUTTY PROFESSOR and THE LADIES MAN. There's also some great footage of him on the stage with Martin. Throughout all of this we get some concert footage from a current stage appearance where he does his act and carries on with some fans who got the chance to ask him questions.
Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Quentin Tarantino, Woody Harrelson, Richard Lewis, John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Carl Reiner, Carol Burnett, Alec Baldwin, Richard Belzer and Billy Crystal are just some of the famous people who pay respect to Lewis. They talk about some of their favorite scenes, the creative genius that Lewis was and they share how his work has influenced their own.
His dramatic work is pretty much overlooked with the exception of THE KING OF COMEDY. There's no talk of the film's he directed with other people acting and there's no mention of THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED. It's too bad some of that stuff wasn't covered but that still doesn't take away from the various subjects that are covered in this nearly two- hour documentary.
**** (out of 4)
This excellent film works as a tribute to Jerry Lewis as we get an all-star group of actors talking about their love for the actor. It also works as a documentary because Lewis himself is interviewed and discusses the various stages of his life including his early days on the stage, the Martin & Lewis years, his solo Paramount films and of course his later career back up on the stage.
If you're a fan of Lewis then you're certainly going to love this documentary. There are clips from the majority of his movies shown and there's some terrific footage of Lewis, the director, working on various films including THE NUTTY PROFESSOR and THE LADIES MAN. There's also some great footage of him on the stage with Martin. Throughout all of this we get some concert footage from a current stage appearance where he does his act and carries on with some fans who got the chance to ask him questions.
Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Quentin Tarantino, Woody Harrelson, Richard Lewis, John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Carl Reiner, Carol Burnett, Alec Baldwin, Richard Belzer and Billy Crystal are just some of the famous people who pay respect to Lewis. They talk about some of their favorite scenes, the creative genius that Lewis was and they share how his work has influenced their own.
His dramatic work is pretty much overlooked with the exception of THE KING OF COMEDY. There's no talk of the film's he directed with other people acting and there's no mention of THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED. It's too bad some of that stuff wasn't covered but that still doesn't take away from the various subjects that are covered in this nearly two- hour documentary.