El terror de las chicas

I enjoyed this movie and parts did make me laugh. Jerry Lewis is certainly an acquired taste however. When the movie started, I was worried and thought I would abhor the rest. It opens with a ridiculously over acted and unfunny scene where acts devastated to spot the girl with another guy. It was more cringe inducing than funny. This kind of slapstick might have caused a few laughs back in the 60s but it's almost unbearable to watch now.

That being said, there were parts in the movie I did find funny, as silly as they might have been. The bit with the method acting with the girl slapping him. The man and the hat. George raft. The butterflies flying out. Also, I do love the setting!

To summarise, humour is sometimes a bit forced, slightly outdated but still has its moments and charm.

Anyway, here Jerry is at something close to his (solo) best as a jilted man who finds himself inadvertently at the beck and call of a house full of movie actress wannabes, and misadventures abound. The house itself was a huge sound stage set with the fourth wall cut away so that the camera could zoom in and around, capturing Lewis' trademark ballets of catastrophe to excellent effect. He really was a marvel at comedic staging and there is some great stuff here. Unfortunately, you also have to take the rest of the Lewis formula too - the sappy romantic sentimentality, the awkward chemistry with his female co-stars and the contrived love sub-plots with girls who ought to have had the good sense to run screaming for the opposite coast as soon as the first catastrophe ended. Honestly are we really supposed to buy the belief that love conquers even Jerry's level of incompetence? Anyway, this movie should be enjoyed for its merits, which are considerable for any fan of comedy cinema, while discreetly closing one eye to its contrivances.

While I do not like this movie much, Helen Traubel's performance deserves all the stars. While she is a legend as one of the best sopranos, if not the best, she deserves much more acclaim regarding her performances as an actor too. What a shame that Rudolf Bing had not renewed her contract at the Met.

This is my favorite Jerry Lewis movie. I laugh uproariously every time I see it. The surreal happenings just make the movie for me, like the butterflies. I was so surprised the first time I saw that as a kid. I just laughed and laughed! The lipstick on the painting is another example of the over the top absurdity. My favorite scene is hat scene, made even funnier because you can see Lewis laughing towards the end. He even moves his head when he can't stifle his giggles anymore to hide from the camera. Hilarious!I caught it on TCM today after a morning of studying with a difficult study partner. It made me laugh, and made me feel better. What I like the most is how game all the actresses are to go along with Jerry's ad libbing. They were all pro's. I appreciate that in a movie. Great stuff!

Sure, it's spotty with its gags (what Lewis film isn't?) but it looks fantastic and the gags that work are hilarious...good sight gags with Buddy Lester, some funny surreal stuff (the lipstick on the painting, the butterfly collection and that great white room sequence with Harry James's Band and Miss Cartilage)..Lewis's reactions to "Baby" are a scream...even the opening titles bit with LOOK magazine is funny... ..downsides...well, the ad libbing with Kathleen Freeman doesn't always work and the serious story with Pat Stanley could be excised (for the better), but who cares?...this and Nutty Professor are definitely his best