Enfant Terrible: Jerry Lewis in American Film

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Summary: Jerry Lewis: Comic genius gone terribly wrong
Review: Lewis is a bewildering American talent: he is one of the best comedy directors around, was an amazingly original screen comic (we too easily forget that his character - the nerdy adolescent - was new when he invented him), was an excellent mime, an inventor (he invented several innovations still used in film), writer of much of his material, actor, singer, etc. He could easily have been remembered as being on the second tier of American film comics (along with Laurel and Hardy) though he aspired to be on the first tier with Chaplin and Keaton. So what went wrong? Why do people hold their nose when his name comes up (except in Europe)? Although his personality has become increasingly abrasive over the years and his screen character was not able to age gracefully (what comic personae does? Look at the abominable final films that Chaplin made!), it must be remembered that all of this is not Lewis' fault. He had a disastrous back injury (on live tv, no less) in the early sixties that gave him unbearable pain for years afterward and that led to his abuse of painkillers. That accident sapped most of his creative powers. It is terrible that so much of the good stuff that Lewis is responsible for has been forgotten. He deserves some objective reassessment. I hope someone will do this before he dies as he deserves to be recognized here in the USA as an improtant figure.

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Summary: Will somebody please stand up the real Jerry Lewis?
Review: That would have been MY title for the book on Jerry Lewis I planned on doing years ago.Books on the "king of comedy" are,unfortunately,few and far between.A much misunderstood,underappreciated and undeservedly maligned genius.I must, also state that Lewis could often (sometimes?)be his own comedic worst enemy ,and his on-screen persona worked best when he was directed BY someone-a'la Frank Tashlin.
But Lewis has always been a man who's failures are almost as fascinating as his triumphs.This book is a compendium of essays on the various facets of the Lewis persona--most of which are authoratative and fascinating.It comes highly recommended and every JL fan will want to read what it has to say.