First, let's list the three good things about this poker faced "comedy":
1) Suzanne Pleshette launching an indelible career
2) Your 1958 Los Angeles Dodgers! (Ist year in my hometown)
3) It's not as racist as I expected.
Otherwise, it's a massive dose of unfunny from Jerry Lewis and Frank Tashlin, both of whom are revered by the French. In Lewis' case you may want to cut them some slack since he did direct at least one near comic masterpiece ("Nutty Professor") but their adoration of Tashlin is really hard to fathom. The guy made just one comedic clunker after another. And comedic directors can't hide behind auteur theory BS like "thematic consistency" or "a strong directorial personality". At some point they have to deliver the yucks. And on that score Tashlin falls woefully short. At his best, say in"Rock Hunter", there are a few moments of genuine hilarity but typically, as here, there are fewer laughs than a random episode of "My Little Margie". And the big, visual comic scenes, like the bunny rabbit schtick, just lie there and rot in the non risible sun. Solid C.
1) Suzanne Pleshette launching an indelible career
2) Your 1958 Los Angeles Dodgers! (Ist year in my hometown)
3) It's not as racist as I expected.
Otherwise, it's a massive dose of unfunny from Jerry Lewis and Frank Tashlin, both of whom are revered by the French. In Lewis' case you may want to cut them some slack since he did direct at least one near comic masterpiece ("Nutty Professor") but their adoration of Tashlin is really hard to fathom. The guy made just one comedic clunker after another. And comedic directors can't hide behind auteur theory BS like "thematic consistency" or "a strong directorial personality". At some point they have to deliver the yucks. And on that score Tashlin falls woefully short. At his best, say in"Rock Hunter", there are a few moments of genuine hilarity but typically, as here, there are fewer laughs than a random episode of "My Little Margie". And the big, visual comic scenes, like the bunny rabbit schtick, just lie there and rot in the non risible sun. Solid C.