The Nutty Professor (1963)

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

not horrible nor great

not as good as all the hype

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

This is now the second Jerry Lewis movie that I've recently watched - And I swear that it'll be the last. I refuse to watch another film with this #1 A-Hole in it, ever again.In one word - I sum up Jerry Lewis as being nothing but AWFUL!!!... AWFUL!!... AWFUL!!This brain-dead Jekyll & Hyde story from 1963 stank, big-time. With Lewis portraying 2 personae in this picture - He certainly managed to be unbearably irritating as both characters.It was especially as the infantile Dr. Julius Kelp character (aka. the nutty professor) that Lewis totally grated on my nerves like you wouldn't believe. It was a good thing for subtitles here 'cause otherwise I wouldn't have ever understood WTF!? his character was babbling about most of the time.I honestly cannot believe that this idiotic doofus (Lewis) was a really popular and well-liked comedian of his generation. ' Cause, as I said earlier - Lewis was AWFUL!! AWFUL!! AWFUL!!

This classic movie from Jerry Lewis co-written by Bill Richmond and himself is an interesting and funny story but also a window into the Jerry Lewis mind during the height of his popularity as a solo performer. Lewis plays Professor Julius Kelp, a brilliant but bumbling, stumbling, and stuttering scientist who creates an alter ego, Buddy Love, to help him overcome his perceived inadequacies. Trying to distinguish the two and figure out whether they are really the same person is Stella Purdy, played by Stella Stevens, who becomes the object of Jerry Lewis' affections on and reportedly off-screen as well. The film shows the transformation of Kelp from wuss to playboy as a result of a formula he develops in his lab. You have to suspend some disbelief that nobody can figure out the difference between the two just from essentially no glasses and a new hairdo and clothes. Although Lewis makes the voice the ultimate disguise to distract from the obvious similarities. I did end up wondering how much of Lewis' real personality was on display between Professor Kelp and Buddy Love. Probably a lot. The film is visually stunning, with an incredible array of vibrant colors in the backdrops and sets, as well as Stevens' wardrobe. The film has plenty of laughs from the pratfalls and sight gags. Not a lot of sophisticated, witty banter but is that really what you come for in a Jerry Lewis movie? I won't give you the moral of the story but you can probably figure it out for yourself. Some things seem dated but it is very much a sit back, relax, and enjoy the show type of movie even today.

Comic actor Jerry Lewis draws inspiration from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for his crazy fantasy The Nutty Professor, in which the star plays a nerdish chemistry professor, Julius Kelp, who invents a formula that transforms him into the debonair yet rather despicable Buddy Love, a cool cat who is hip with the kids at jazz club The Purple Pit, but who has a particular eye for blonde student Stella Purdy (played by the stunning Stella Stevens).A little less slapstick than Lewis's previous work, The Nutty Professor teaches a valuable lesson about being comfortable with who you really are, while at the same time providing plenty of giggles as Buddy's personality frequently collides with Kelp's at the most inopportune of moments. Even those unable to recognise the genius of Lewis in his other movies surely cannot deny the brilliance of the performers' work in this instance—how he effortlessly switches between Kelp and Love, bringing pathos to his role as well as humour.Also making The Nutty Professor a delight to behold are the wonderful production design, which is infused with bright colours throughout, and the the excellent jazzy soundtrack, which helps to keep the action swinging along.

This Jerry's masterpiece -- his Annie Hall -- the one for the ages that will be re-watched however the rest may (or may not) endure.Jerry-as-professor is a variant on Jerry's usual screen idiot, but with amusing double-talk, and good physical comedy. He also manages to convey real pathos under all the clowning.Jerry's smarmy "Buddy Love" character is surprisingly complicated -- an ass and a bully, but with hints of vulnerability and pathetic drunkenness. "Ain't enough you got the best? You want me to be on-time too?" The character anticipates his "Jerry Langford" in the King of Comedy. It's a self-less performance -- playing an unflattering part very very well. The alluring and wide-eyed Stella Stevens helps too. :)