robcat2075
I came to this because Jerry Seinfeld spoke so admiringly of it in his CCC with Jerry Lewis. I can't accuse him of under-selling it.I can see why the French thought Lewis was a super genius. They saw "The Bellboy" and thought, "well, it's not as bad as Italian neo-realism and that's supposed to be genius stuff..."I imagine audiences of the time got a kick out of this. It's a bunch of silly sketches connected into one film without a significant story. It's a bit of a precursor to a film like Monty Python's "The Holy Grail" but without the strong writing, the strong comedy timing and the strong editing. After watching this film one understands a bit why Monty Python was such a shock a decade later... "The Bell Boy" is what passed for film comedy in the 60s.I understand that he patched this thing together in record time. It's a feat in just that regard but would say that Lewis has over-estimated his ability to carry a scene by himself and underestimated the need for strong supporting players.The opening scene with the "executive" is a cop out. Did the studio make him add that? I don't know, but it is typical of this movie's habit of pre-telegraphing the joke so it's not funny when it finally arrives.
rjc7394
Jerry doesn't speak at all throughout the movie but the story line is centered around the bellboy (Lewis) and his actions. (Very much in the style of Charlie Chaplin I think.) The movie is made up of one after another fantastic, hilarious sight gags (which includes several special camera/editing effects) with classic Lewis expressions, boundless energy and it is very entertaining all the way through. (ie. Bellboy tries to pick up a trunk which doesn't have any handles.) I've seen this movie countless times since I was a kid. Puts a smile on my face every time I see it. Every person in the World can identify with this comedy. A true Classic.
ametaphysicalshark
"The Bellboy" unapologetically states in an introductory scene that it has no plot or story and is made purely for fun. "The Bellboy" really is seventy minutes of nothing but sight gags, some hilarious, some clever, and some disappointing."The Bellboy" was Jerry Lewis' first film as director and is just as divisive as you would expect it to be, with some consistently claiming it is one of the great physical comedies, up there with Tati et al and others reacting to it the way one is sadly expected to react to a Jerry Lewis comedy nowadays. I personally think "The Bellboy" displays a lot of talent from Lewis as director, with some attempts at surrealism being surprisingly successful. Lewis also works the sight gags into the film beautifully, not ignoring one inch of the frame when composing the gags, one of the many reasons I suspect I hated this film when I first saw it on VHS.Still, "The Bellboy" is far from Lewis' funniest or best film (see an unfairly maligned favorite of mine, "The Disorderly Orderly" for the former, and "The Nutty Professor" for the latter) and has its fair share of misses as well as hits with the gags. In addition the lack of structure the film has is occasionally distracting.I won't comment on Lewis as a person or on his personal beliefs, but he makes me laugh which is really what matters in a filmmaker. Moreover, "The Bellboy" is surprisingly well-directed and more inventive than you might expect, but I'll leave it to the Europeans to explain to you why it's a great film as opposed to a good one, because I can't see the reason in that.7/10
moonspinner55
Jerry Lewis wrote, produced, directed, and stars in this collection of skits centering around a put-upon bellhop at a Miami Beach hotel. Having just completed "Cinderfella" for a mid-year release, Lewis suggested to Paramount Pictures they hold off showing that film until Christmas and gave them this one in its place (put together in near-record time). Short and relatively painless, the film benefits from Haskell Boggs' sharp black-and-white cinematography, Walter Scharf's bright score, and of course the snazzy locale. Lewis, making his directorial debut, smoothly segues from one sight-gag to the next, and his low-key performance is actually one of his best. **1/2 from ****
AD
