The Nutty Professor

The Nutty Professor (1963)

Runtime: 107 minutes

Directed by Jerry Lewis (RIP)

Starring: Jerry, Stella Stevens, Del Moore, Kathleen Freeman, Med Flory

From: Paramount

This seemed like the best thing to watch on Sunday night. I was right in this decision, as I explain below:

It was only natural to see a film from Jerry Lewis last night, considering that his death at the age of 91 was announced just hours before. I've only seen a few of his movies in my lifetime. I won't get into some of the problematic things involving Old Jerry (such as his belief that “female comics aren't funny”, or him using a certain anti-gay slur late in life) and instead note that he has made some pretty funny and entertaining movies, usually involving slapstick, which did take a toll on his body. I figured I should watch and review the most famous film he did that was Pure Jerry... in that he starred, wrote, and directed it.

As there's the famous 90's remake, I presume everyone knows the plot to this. Unlike what Eddie Murphy did, the titular professor is not an obese man; rather, Professor Kelp (of chemistry) is a gigantic nerd, a milksop, a goofy guy with buckteeth and a silly voice that matches his dorky haircut. He's bullied and he likes one of his students (Stella Stevens, which is understandable... thankfully Lewis plays a college professor and not a high school chemistry teacher!), so he wishes he could be “cool”. Those that know the remake know the rest of the plot... he drinks a potion which turns him into Buddy Love, someone who is indeed “cool”... except that he's also a real jerk.... the formula wears off at inopportune times, etc. Either Love is a spoof of Jerry's former comedy partner Dean Martin or he's spoofing himself; I've heard both theories presented.

I was amused that Jerry was willing to play both a dork who is a little off-putting and a suave character who is very off-putting. Yet it's all pretty funny. As others have noted, the movie is quite unpredictable; often you don't know what will happen next because of misdirection and thankfully the movie feels fresh with such a way of telling its story rather than annoying or obnoxious. Considering the state of comedy these days, this seems especially fresh. I wouldn't dare reveal any of the surprises, including what happens with the ending. Instead, I'll mention that the movie is literally colorful and nice to look at. There's a hip spot called The Purple Pit, then due to the great costumer Edith Head you get to see Buddy in incredible suits. While I could never pull it off, Love's first suit (light blue and black, with a pink shirt and black tie) is a tremendous look and I wish I could pull it off.

No matter what you think of the man or his movies, those Labor Day Telethons did raise over 2 billion dollars for the Muscular Dystrophy Association over the decades. I was glad I got to see something from him last night, as he was someone who entertained many people for many years.