The Age of Commercialism

Overrated

Expected more

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I don't know. I remember seeing this movie as a kid and thinking it was a great, hilarious Jerry Lewis comedy. In the late 1950's and early 1960's Jerry Lewis could do no bad. People stood in long lines and paid a premium to see his movies.I am watching "The Bellboy" now, recorded on my DVR, and it is incredibly stupid and unfunny. What happened? There has certainly been a change in social behaviors, seeing how women are treated and how men behave in the movie. And there has been a change in what we find funny, apparently.There are a few comic pieces that hold up; Jerry leading the invisible orchestra is a nice piece of work, his trying to find a seat in the crowded coffee shop with the huge unoccupied counter which is instantly filled with customers the second he tries to take a seat, his joyride in the DC-8 and his buzzing of the Fontainbleau, the real Jerry Lewis meeting the Milton Berle bellboy, and the one I have always liked, his taking a flashbulb picture of the moon that instantly changes night into day.Otherwise the movie is not funny anymore, or maybe I've outgrown its type of humor. It's good to watch as a piece of history and cinematic history.Times have changed.

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.

Jerry Lewis's directorial debut casts him as a none-too-bright bellhop in Miami Beach's Fontainebleau Hotel. The producer at the beginning explains the the movie has basically no plot, just a series of gags. That's basically true. "The Bellboy" is quite literally just an excuse to be funny, and Jerry Lewis definitely succeeds. It's the sort of flick that they truly must have had fun making. There is one scene in particular that must have been a little risqué to film - you'll know it when you see it - and some of the humor is certainly a little outdated, but in the grand scheme of things, this is a comedy classic! Also starring Alex Gerry, Bob Clayton and Milton Berle.HE WHAT?!!!!!!!!!!

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 ****