Smorgasbord (1985)

Jerry Lewis has always been one of the most awesomely gifted comedians in the business. He can make you laugh so hard, your ribs hurt. He can also bore (and embarrass) the snot out of you. This movie is, truthfully, uneven. The first ten minutes, as the poor schnook tries merely to sit down in a doctor's office, are brilliant, screamingly funny. Other bits (there really isn't much of a plot) traverse a range from lying there like iron ingots to surreally jaw-dropping. The French aren't necessarily crazy. The highs in this movie soar, the lows strain to reach the curb. Welcome to a Jerry Lewis movie. If you can't handle that, this isn't for you.

Cracking Up is one of my favorite movies.....OK, I might have a weird sense of humor... but the first time I saw it, I laughed so hard my side hurt. I bought the movie, and occasionally get it out and watch it again just to get a good laugh.several parts I like are the Restaurant scene, the waitress when she takes his order, it's hysterical. I'd love to do that to someone sometime.I also love the scene with the guru on the operating table, so funny.And the airplane scene..... "chef surprise....you'll love it" it makes me laugh just writing this.If you haven't seen this movie, get your hands on a copy and watch it.

I noticed that one of the reviewers referred to this film as an 'overlooked gem'. I'd beg to differ...So, is "Cracking Up" funny? Yep--for about 2 minutes. That's about the length of the airplane skit. It's VERY funny and highly original but hardly makes it worth sitting through this mess!! I am serious when I say this is one of the only movies I have seen that made me physically ill. The one and only time in my life I had a migraine occurred as I watched this and I know it was the fault of the movie!! For example, the movie begins as Lewis enters a therapist's office and spends the next 75 minutes slipping on the floor and sliding off the vinyl furniture. Okay, maybe it only lasted 30 minutes--but it seemed like it would go on forever. THEN, later in the film he repeated this sequence AGAIN!!!! My head felt like it was ready to explode!! Somebody needed to tell this man to STOP! Fortunately for the studio, this film was not released since they knew it was a bomb and it was later released on cable and video. For this, someone needs to pay! If you LIKE pain and want to see other Jerry Lewis monstrosities, see most of his flicks after his breakup with Dean Martin (particularly Slapstick of Another Kind) and avoid The King of Comedy (where Lewis did an excellent job playing it straight).PS--Despite its being raised to "classic status", The Nutty Professor wasn't funny. At least without the use of alcohol, drugs or a severe blow to the head.

Jerry Lewis is hilariously amazing. He is truly a comic genius. He writes hilarious movies and executes them so well and this is no exception. This is a great movie A GREAT MOVIE ONE OF JERRY'S OVERLOOKED GEMS IS CORRECT!!!!!!!!! If Jerry reads this I just have to say, you are the best at slapstick, and you are hilarious the most talented comedian to ever live, but I have a feeling there is this one kid who is coming up who will become the greatest, all because of ur teaching through ur films and colgate comedy hours.