Ma bonne amie Irma

This is a strange little comedy in which the appearances of Dean and Jerry almost seem an afterthought. "My Friend Irma" was already a successful radio comedy featuring the brilliant Marie Wilson. Marie played a hard core scatterbrain who had a knack for getting herself into and out of trouble. When it was decided to bring Irma to the big screen, I think Paramount decided to hedge their bets by including Dean and Jerry. This unlikely trio of comedians seems occasionally at odds struggling for whatever laughs might exist in this thin script. But there are some definite highlights for all of them, and the climax presents a bizarre commentary on how much the effects of consumerism had absorbed the American culture just a few years after World War II. The dippy Irma wins a radio contest by accident, and the last scene milks every last ounce of joke material out of the fact that she has been rewarded with a mountain of expensive presents.

Irma (Marie Wilson) is a ditsy woman whose antics made Gracie Allen seem like an Einstein. Marie Wilson's dumb routine is one you'll either find funny or terribly annoying--I know it got on my nerves a bit after a while. However, even if you find this a bit tiresome, it's worth seeing just since it's the screen debut of the comedy team of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis.

The film opens with Jane (the ever-cute Diana Lynn) narrating and describing her annoying roommate, Irma. Now considering just how annoying Irma is, you do wonder why Jane has anything to do with her--especially since her long-term fiancé, Al, is a greasy user (John Lund).

Al has just discovered a musical talent (Dean Martin) working with his friend (Jerry Lewis) at a local orange juice bar and although he knows NOTHING about the entertainment industry, lies and tells Martin he can make him a star! And, Al just assumes he can take advantage of Jane and get her to help put up Steve and Seymour (Martin & Lewis) in the tiny apartment. Naturally, you assume that after an inauspicious introduction that Jane and Steve will become sweethearts. However, Jane's new boss, Mr. Rhinelander (Don Defore), has ideas about her as well.

Al is able to actually help Steve by getting him a variety of engagements at restaurants and nightclubs--which is a bit surprising. With his beautiful voice, his success isn't all that surprising but what is surprising (in the film and in real life) is that people liked seeing and hearing his partner sing as well! So, a few times Steve's great songs are interrupted or 'enhanced' by Seymour's antics. Considering I usually hate musical numbers in comedies, the fact that I just wanted to hear Dean Martin's singing is a testament to his skills--as well as Lewis'! Some liked Jerry's singing...though to me it was just painful...very, very painful--though in real life Lewis did have a nice singing voice when not hamming it up.

As for the acting, I liked John Lund--he was pretty funny though not exactly subtle. Martin and Lynn were also good. As for Wilson and Lewis...well, they are more an acquired taste. I've seen Jerry Lewis better--and more subtle. As for Wilson...she's pretty much the ditz I saw her as in other films. The less said the better. The film, despite its limitations, is enjoyable and worth seeing if you are an old time comedy fan--though it's far from Martin & Lewis' best. Not great but it sure has its moments.

By the way, this film has a sequel, "My Friend Irma Goes West", and it's not surprising, as "My Friend Irma" ends BEFORE the plot is fully resolved--showing they must have known they'd do a sequel before they even finished the first film!

Beautiful Diana Lynn makes this a fun show. Interesting to see NYC in those days, so different from now. First film for Martin and Lewis, they looked so young.

My friend Irma is the first of 16 films that Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made together, and it's their worst, and only one of two that aren't very good. The reason is Lewis and his character of Seymour. He is a constant complaining, loud, obnoxious character who adds zero comedy to this film. Fortunately, the duo are not the lead stars of the film.

That billing goes to John Lund, Diana Lynn and Marie Wilson. Most of the comedy is provided by Lund's Al, and Wilson's Irma Peterson. She provides some scatterbrained humor, and Lund is a riot playing the tough, uneducated but sly con artist. Those two performances trump the terrible Lewis role and raise mediocre roles of Martin's Steve and Diana Lynn's Jane Stacey. Don DeFore is good as Richard Rhinelander, also providing some comedy.

The later pairings of Martin and Lewis have Jerry toning down his loud, complaining characters and then dropping that for good comedy and antics.

Here are the better lines from this film.

Al, "Chicken, believe me. You've got no chance to win this contest." Irma Peterson, 'Why not?" Al, "For one thing, all contest winners live in one of two places - Butte, Montana, or Keokuk, Iowa." Irma, "I'll move." Al, "... And the only other way you can win a contest is if you have a husband who isn't working and you 're the mother of 32 children."

Steve, "But what's the sense of living if you have to kill yourself?"

Steve. "Well, that's me - never a director, always a chauffeur."

Mrs. Rhinelander, "Well, what is she, a neurotic?" Irma Peterson, "Her religion has nothing to do with it."

Irma Peterson, "It's just that your son has so much money that she is drawn to him like a maggot." Mrs. Rhinelander, "A maggot?"

Al, "Chicken, you're cryin'. What's happened?... You didn't lose your job?" Irma, "Oh, no." Al, "Oh, you had me scared for a minute."

Radio Contest Announcer, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're about to call the winner of the mammoth $50,000 gift contest. There goes the giant wheel and someone will be the lucky winner. Our telephone operator is waiting to call the lucky winner who is Mrs. Hilda Platz of Keokuk, Iowa, the mother of 32 children." Irma Peterson, "Al was right."

Radio Contest Announcer, "Hold it, folks. Mrs. Platz is disqualified - she has no phone. And there goes the wheel again and the call goes to Miss Irma Peterson."

Solid if unspectacular movie that is of interest mainly for being the debut of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis. As a beginning piece for the duos body of work it does set something of a standard, a kind of benchmark niche as it were, Martin sings and gets to woo the sexy lady whilst Jerry clowns around and gets the laughs, not that there are too many laughs to be had here because there isn't that many if one is honest. Yet the film still has a 40s charm with it's array of interesting characters that never stretch to annoying limits, performances are steady from all involved, and as a romantic comedy it is well worth a watch, and not least because it has a very interesting segment about who should be the bigger name of the two out of Masrtin & Lewis........now that one makes for quite a story some way down the line wink wink. 5/10 and worth a watch on its own merit for fans of cheeky charm 40s rom-coms, and of course for Martin/Lewis completists like me.