The timing wasn't right back in 2013 when Jerry Lewis showed "Max Rose" at the infamous Cannes Film Festival. Yeah, they canned it, with Variety saying it was for "only the most undiscriminating senior audiences — or the most irrationally charitable of Lewis fans."
The film was roasted for being too sentimental and having an intrusive, sappy soundtrack courtesy of Michel Legrand. "Lewis doesn’t deliver a dramatic performance so much as a rote run-through of extreme expressions — from bug-eyed stares, winces, squints and grimaces to a toothy grin as the narrative clouds (and his eyebrows) finally lift."
Now? The NY Times declares Lewis is a fine dramatic actor (while the Legrand score still stinks).
Timed for art house releases just as everyone is missing Jerry and his Labor Day Telethon antics, "Max Rose" seems to be perversely praised by critics tired of the summer's comic book hero movies. If the choice is broad ethnic comedy from some black guy in drag, or whatever pig-faced fat-is-beautiful magi-dramas Amy Schemer releases, critics are going to encourage Jerry Lewis. Or anyone else making an indie film aimed for anyone over 50.
Some critics even note that a nursing home scene features Mort Sahl, who was a Lewis crony 50 years ago, appearing on one of Jerry's failed talk show episodes. Sahl has never considered himself an actor, and still wants to be a force in stand-up. Guided to a chair on a small stage in a tiny California venue, he's doing made-for-Facebook shows of anecdotes (all those who still remember Haig...) and questions from the audience.
Fans of Lewis (or Sahl) still are wondering what's so great about the films of Judd Apatow and why "Big Bang Theory" is still on the air, or how Charlie Sheen got to be worth a million bucks an episode as a comedy talent. So they are embracing their often cantankerous idols while it's still possible.
Both Jerry and Mort are as capable of nasty and irrational behavior towards fans as they are in at least appreciating when they buy tickets. Jerry does note that fans are different now:
"They don’t ask for autographs. They want a picture. Everybody now is a photographer, and none of them know what the fuck to do with the camera or the picture they take. It’s a pain in the ass. It’s a PAIN IN THE ASS. Not a lot of people will say that!”
Jerry will, and if that's not a good reason to go see "Max Rose" before it comes to streaming and illegal downloads, then maybe it's a reason to go see him on tour.
Yes, Jerry is once again doing some select clips-and-questions shows. Unlike Mort, Jerry is able to do it in Vegas and in several major cities. He'll even be part of one of those ridiculous "cruises," (for TCM) where a boat-load of "buffs" pester a few stars till the stars go into hiding.
Maybe someone at a Q&A show can ask if he'll be standing at the stage door afterwards, letting people hug him and scream "Heyyyyy, Layyyydeeeee" and take selfies with him. Heyyyyy, it would be worth asking just to hear Jerry turn from comic to caustic and shout "PAIN IN THE ASS" and "WHAT THE FUCK" in person.
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