If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Fresh and Exciting

Absolutely Brilliant!

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

This was Jerry Lewis' favorite of his Martin and Lewis films. I'm guessing this is because this film had the type of maudlin sentimentality that Jerry would often include in the films he would go on to write, produce, and direct. The story has singer Dean Martin as a singer who during one performance has a hilarious back-and-forth banter with audience member Jerry. The two then scheme to plant Jerry in the audience for future performances to recreate the gag. Jerry becomes the real star of the show, but gets no billing or equal pay, and generally is exploited by Dean, to which Dean's wife, Polly Bergen, eventually confronts him over. It's a pretty lightweight drama and the sappiness works to a point, mostly thanks to Jerry's very sympathetic performance, but this isn't your usual wacky Martin & Lewis outing and the mix of comedy and drama doesn't quite mesh. Still, it is worth watching for fans of the comic duo and for fans of Jerry in particular.

I would LOVE to know more about the background for this film. After all, so many elements are reminiscent of the real team of Martin & Lewis that it's hard to know how much is fiction and how much is autobiographical. I do know, however, why Jerry Lewis loved this film. And, you could probably assume that Dean Martin didn't, as it really made him look like an awful person.In many ways, this film is not really a comedy--making it unique for the team. And, in many ways, the act on screen looked a lot like Martin & Lewis' real stage act--something that people particularly loved on television where they made a HUGE splash. Dean plays a straight man who croons and Jerry an obnoxious guy in the crowd who disrupts the act and acts really goofy. However, unlike the real team, Jerry plays a really dumb guy--a guy who is successful just being himself. The problem in the film is that Dean's character is totally selfish and exploits Jerry. They are less a partnership and more Dean having hired help. But, as the act becomes more and more popular, it's more and more obvious that Jerry is an important part of the act--something Dean just doesn't want to admit. And, because Jerry is no nice and guileless, people around Dean grow to hate him. As I said, the film makes Dean look like a horrible person and Jerry a poor victim. It's very entertaining and dramatic....but as I said above, you wonder how close this is to fact.On the plus side, Jerry's performance isn't quite as broad and obnoxious as many of his other films. Dean is just fine but I would give $100000 to have been able to read his mind when this film was being made. You also wonder if, perhaps, this film may have laid some of the groundwork for the team's break up several years later. Because of this, it's a bit uncomfortable to watch--is it a case of art imitating life (or vice-versa)? Compelling and very interesting.

Some good comments here on this site already, so I really don't want to go over old ground, it is a portent of sorts, and there is no getting away from the fact that its central themes of narcissism and selfishness are striking a chord with the duo as the film draws to it's marvellous finale.The film was held back for release for two years and it's not hard to see why in the light of the other Martin & Lewis out and out comedy offerings prior to this one. You see this offering is a drama with a comedy heart. Of course it's full of the maniacal moments one has come to expect from this pair, but we are never in any doubt that the core of the film is serious stuff. We are set up a treat by the makers because we are heartily involved with the mirthful nature for the first three parts of the film, and it's this that is the films chief triumph because when the shift in tone occurs: it hits you like a sledgehammer.Maximum impact is gained by a cunning slant masquerading as comedy, and this makes the film, in my opinion, the duo's most poignant and accomplished piece of work, it's certainly not close to being the funniest one has to say, but it's an essential and great piece of entertainment from two very special entertainers. 8/10

I haven't seen this movie in years, but a flick like this one just cannot be forgotten! I am in my early twenties and for more than half my life, I have been a film buff of movies old and new. Martin and Lewis are one of my all time favorite comedy duos, and at one time, I was renting movies here and there so that I could see all of the films they made together, and ones the lively, virtuous humanitarian Lewis did during his solo career. When I saw this movie, it just blew me away. This film is the most dramatic film those boys ever made--and if you're thinking that that can't possibly be saying much since most of their movies were screwball comedies, I'm here to tell you you're mistaken. This movie is funny, but it's also very impassioned and heart-rendering, so you might do yourself a favor by keeping a box of tissues near you when viewing it.Both Martin and Lewis are great in these dramatic and comedic roles as a comedy team that splits up because Lewis' character is under-appreciated and emotional mistreated by Martin's character. In a oddly coincidental way, this movie seemed to foreshadow the boys' split up in '56, but of course, in the movie, there is a happy ending. And while everyone knows that both Dean and Jerry went on to have successful solo careers and reunited as friends years later, I think that it would have been great to have seen them do a couple more films together that were as unforgettable as this one.