Konterr Brilliant and touching

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

robcat2075 I came to this because Jerry Seinfeld spoke so admiringly of it in his CCC with Jerry Lewis. I can't accuse him of under-selling it.I can see why the French thought Lewis was a super genius. They saw "The Bellboy" and thought, "well, it's not as bad as Italian neo-realism and that's supposed to be genius stuff..."I imagine audiences of the time got a kick out of this. It's a bunch of silly sketches connected into one film without a significant story. It's a bit of a precursor to a film like Monty Python's "The Holy Grail" but without the strong writing, the strong comedy timing and the strong editing. After watching this film one understands a bit why Monty Python was such a shock a decade later... "The Bell Boy" is what passed for film comedy in the 60s.I understand that he patched this thing together in record time. It's a feat in just that regard but would say that Lewis has over-estimated his ability to carry a scene by himself and underestimated the need for strong supporting players.The opening scene with the "executive" is a cop out. Did the studio make him add that? I don't know, but it is typical of this movie's habit of pre-telegraphing the joke so it's not funny when it finally arrives.

dougdoepke I love it when Jerry's in the crowded showgirl's dressing room, and just as things get revealing his hand suddenly covers the camera eye. This is arguably Lewis's funniest movie. His career post- Dean Martin needed a new direction and he got the big boost here. As I recall, critics were encouraging, while the movie scored at the box-office.There's no story, just a series of physical comedy skits that Jerry does without speaking. In a way, it's a tribute to comedy of the silent era, which may be why the ersatz Stan Laurel makes a clever appearance. Of course, some routines are funnier than others, while all are filmed at a plush Miami Beach hotel where Jerry's an inept-- to say the least-- bellboy. Except for Milton Berle, no celebrities appear in the large cast, which really puts the spotlight on Jerry. Apparently, he came up with the script and routines in a surprisingly short period (IMDB), probably seeing the comedy potential while working the hotel stage. All in all, it's pure Lewis at his goofy best (without the sometimes grating voice) and most consistently innovative. Anyway, I want to hire him to move chairs into our social club's cavernous hall. Thanks to Lewis, I'm still chuckling over that little gem.

henryhertzhobbit I can take Jerry Lewis only in doses. The most pleasurable movie he was in that I watched was The Geisha Boy. I saw it long after it came out. I did like this movie but I don't think I would watch it again without a few intervening years. That is the doses part. I saw this movie almost ten years after it first played in a movie theater.Plot? What plot? There isn't one. It is just Jerry Lewis doing one gag after another like a stand-up comic. And that is the problem. Usually most stand-up comics are on stage for 30 minutes or less. So you may get tired of it. It could have been different. Jerry Lewis tried to get Stan Laurel for a part and we had a look-alike stand-in instead. He did get Milton Berle for a cameo which did help. He also tried to get Billy Wilder to direct and was again turned down with the response "why don't you direct it yourself?" or words to that effect. If he had got others to help maybe it could have been a better movie.The best part is at the very end of the movie if you last that long. I would say younger people are sour-pusses and probably won't last that long. But if you make it to the end you are in for a treat. Hint: Wilder won't be there. I chuckled at the other parts but almost died laughing at it. I hope they haven't cut that part out.

bkoganbing In The Bellboy we get to see two Jerry Lewises. Jerry plays a bellboy at the famous Miami Beach Fountainbleu Hotel where a good deal of the film is shot. And he plays movie star Jerry Lewis who happens to be staying at the Fountainbleu with one very large entourage. That's one of the gags in a funny scene involving a limousine. Also staying there is Milton Berle in another gag involving an identical Milton as well as an identical Jerry.Jack Kruschen plays the head of Paramount Pictures in a prologue opening where he explains this film has no plot or story, it's just the day in the life of a singularly inept bellboy. He's the bane in the existence of hotel manager Alex Gerry and bell captain Bob Clayton. Jerry must be related to someone important otherwise he would have been canned years ago.That raucous Lewis laugh and voice you will not hear at all, still Jerry puts together a lovely series of sight gags without a sound coming from him. Usually that voice is so much a part of his comedy shtick you'd think he'd be lost without it, but he carries off his goal of making a film that is a tribute to the famous silent comedians of yore.One gag involves writer Bill Richmond doing an imitation of Stan Laurel. My guess is that Jerry tried to get the real Stan to do this film, but probably health reasons prevented it. It wasn't one of the better gags in the film, it could have used the real Stan to make it work.The Bellboy is a quieter, but not more gentle Jerry Lewis.