Le Zinzin d'Hollywood

I don't think "The Errand Boy" is a film everyone will love. The film is essentially plot less and it's made up of one silly skit after another. Additionally, some of the bits are pretty bad--with some serious overacting by Jerry Lewis. Yet, despite its faults, the film is pleasant and entertaining.

I could describe the plot but frankly it never made sense and occupied little of the film. Suffice to say that dopey Morty (Lewis) is hired as an errand boy at a film studio and ends up repeatedly screwing up pretty much everything he does. And, in the end, there is a twist--a nice one at that.

Very few people would notice that much of "The Errand Boy" was lifted from the Harold Lloyd feature "Movie Crazy". Part of the reason folks won't recognize this is that it's a rather obscure film--created in the talking picture era when he was no longer quite the star he was during the silent days. Additionally, the film has been seen, quite inaccurately, as a dud--whereas it's really a dandy film. Here, Lewis resurrects much of this old film and into it injects lots of silliness. Some of the silliness doesn't work (as was often the case, the timing was a problem--skits were something overdone and drawn out way too much--especially the ones involving mispronunciations) and some does. I really didn't enjoy the pathos in scenes involving puppets but must admit a few of the skits (such as Jerry in the pool) were quite funny. Overall, a VERY mixed bag and a film much like Lewis' other plot less film, "The Bell Boy" (which I actually prefer). Worth seeing if you are a fan.

By the way, for classic TV buffs, you'll easily recognize Howard McNear (Floyd the Barber from "The Andy Griffith Show"). But, if you look closely, you'll also see Barry Livingston (Ernie from "My Three Sons") in a skit involving jellybeans.

Those who dismiss 'The Errand Boy' as juvenile comedy in the vein of the awful Tom Green are way out of line - this film in particular is entertaining, genuinely funny, and acted and directed with charm by Jerry Lewis. Perhaps he was funnier in 'Who's Minding The Store' or 'The Nutty Professor', but this one remains my favourite.

It is the story of Morty, an underling at a Hollywood studio where he can cause as many problems as he can - in the canteen, on the sets, in the lift, as an unexpected extra during filming, and by overdubbing his own squeaky vocals over a finished soundtrack. The combined effect of all this is irresistable.

My favourite scene though is the one in the prop room, where Morty seeks advice from a couple of finger puppets about how to improve his life. Cliched, maybe, but unexpected amongst the silliness and really quite effective.

Having seen this through much younger eyes a few decades ago, my faulty memory banks recall this as being: A) much funnier than I think it is now, and B) in glorious Technicolor, which it obviously wasn't.

All great comedians steal from each other, and many of the sight gags here owe so much to the great Ernie Kovacs, (who himself owed everyone from Buster Keaton to Harold Lloyd to old Warners cartoons and comedic shorts). That said, Jerry puts his own unique stamp on every gag, in that way which is what only the most gifted comics can pull off.

The recording studio sequence is much funnier than I remember it, and I would willingly sit through the first act just to get to it. There are a lot of dull spots, strange interludes that are compelling if somewhat jarring in the context of things, (his encounter with the 'live' puppets), and just a tad preachy, (the confrontation between T.P. Paramutual (Brian Donlevy) and his 'toadies' in the screening room.

Overall, I don't know if I would hail it as a masterpiece, (I will leave that task to Parisian critics,) but it's one helluva lot funnier than a lot of the crap coming out of Hollyweird these days.

I'd recommend it, but not over THE LADIES' MAN. Now THERE is a funny movie!

"The Errand Boy" is mostly an excuse for a series of silly gags, but it's good for a few laughs. Jerry Lewis plays a man who gets hired to spy for a movie company. Sure enough, in the process of spying, he just makes a mess everywhere he goes. Whether it's the armor suits or the champagne bottle, this guy is a walking disaster area. A precursor to Insp. Clouseau and Gilligan, if you will.

Low humor, you say? Maybe it is, but like I said, good for a few laughs; simply a way to pass time. The movie doesn't pretend to be a masterpiece. Also starring Brian Donlevy, Howard McNear, Kathleen Freeman, Stanley Adams and Doodles Weaver.

Jerry Lewis directs, co-writes and stars in The Errand Boy. Film finds the hapless Lewis hired as an errand boy behind the scenes at Paramutual Pictures. There's a method in the madness, had honcho Tom Paramutual (Brian Donlevy sadly under used) wants him to spy behind the scenes to see why the studio is loosing so much money. Chaos inevitably follows.

Forget the plot, there actually isn't one to hang your hat on, film consists mostly of Lewis skits strung together as he takes us around the workings of the back lot of Paramount. There's a caustic edge to the piece, with Lewis and co-writer Bill Richmond gleefully saying that where film making is concerned, all that glitters is not gold. Some of the visual gags work, others not so, with a couple running far too long to actually work. But as always with Lewis, his best moments detract from the bad to leave the film entertaining for his fans, even if it struggles to stretch the premise over 90 minutes. 6/10