Un chef de rayon explosif

This is one of my favorite Jerry Lewis movies. The cast of characters are funny and talented. I especially enjoyed watching the very sexy secretary, Shirley Lott played by Francesca Bellini in her tight skirts, silk blouses and her gorgeous legs in high heels. Ms. Bellini's key scene was towards the end of the movie when clumsy Norman Phiffer, played by Jerry Lewis was repairing a vacuum cleaner and increased the suction to its highest power and then turned it on. As she got off the elevator with the vacuum out of control and pointed in her direction her skirt was sucked right off her body revealing her gorgeous legs encased only in dark brown silk stockings held up by a black lacey garter-belt over her pretty black panties. Embarrassed, she screamed and ran off to hide. This was Mr.Lewis's trademark in almost every movie where a woman would get her clothes ripped or torn off her to the delight of every male in the audience.

"Who's Minding the Store?" is a movie that is so stupid its funny. This film contains scenes that are incredibly dim-witted. Other scenes are dumber than dumb. But I found myself laughing at what was going on. I haven't seen alot of Jerry Lewis movies with the exception of a few including this one. "Who's Minding the Store?" stars Lewis as Norman Pfeiffer, a hapless young man who works as a poodle dog walker and animal sitter. He is engaged to be married to a lovely young woman named Barbara played by Jill St. John (before she became a Bond woman in "Diamonds Are Forever"). Barbara works at a department store as an elevator operator. One day she goes to visit Norman while dog-sitting, and she breaks the news to him that her bosses want Norman to come work at the store. Norman is thrilled to get the chance to work close to his girl, and (foolishly) accepts the job. However, what Barbara doesn't know is that this is a scheme by her mother Phoebe Tuttle (played by "Bewitched" star Agnes Moorehead), who just happens to be the store owner. Phoebe is not happy one bit that her daughter is engaged to this imbecile. So she orders the store manager Mr. Quimby (Ray Walston) to give Norman the hardest, most impossible jobs to do so that he'll quit his new job and hopefully end up breaking off his engagement to Barbara. The jobs that Norman does in this film are unbelievable, and in the process ends up turning the store upside down into a disaster area. I laughed, and laughed, and laughed, at the stupidity of what went on and I couldn't help it. This movie cracks me up (interesting, because 20 years after Lewis made this he made a movie titled oddly enough "Cracking Up"). I feel kind of guilty admitting that I like this film, but I did.

*** (out of four)

Not my Favorite J.L. Film, (that would be Errand Boy), but delightful, nonetheless. Great physical comedy and some lightweight satire ("a man has to be king of his own ranch style tract home").

The woman who played Jane Hathaway in Beverly Hillbillies makes a cameo appearance as a Big Game Hunter looking for a new rifle in the Sporting Dept., where Jerry's Character is working the counter.

The usual slapstick devices come into play such as the golf bag sch tick (you know, the one), the golf ball going out the window...making, let's just say..multiple bounces along its journey, and of course.

The exercise bicycles on the mattress, and ensuing endurance jog make my side hurt with laughter.

Home sick from work or school, either from a cold or the bad ironic humor that pervades your weekdays? This is your film.

If you don't like Jerry, you have no soul.

Jerry Lewis plays Norman Phiffier, a poodle dog walker who is going to marry a rich girl named Barbara Tuttle (Jill St. John) who works as an elevator operator at a department store.Barbara doesn't want Norman to know that she's rich.Barbara's mother Phoebe Tuttle (Agnes Moorehead) doesn't want her daughter to marry such a fool as Norman so she gets Norman a job from the store Barbara works and gets him the worst jobs.Norman has to eat fried ants for example.Frank Tashlin's Who's Minding the Store from 1963 is filled with hilarious situations.Jerry Lewis causes disasters and makes people crack up.It's hard to say the best movie of Jerry Lewis but this must be one of the them.It has everything Jerry Lewis fans need.Watch this movie if you want to get a good laugh a'la Jerry Lewis.

When I turned 16 or so and began to develop a mature sense of aesthetics, the films of Jerry Lewis became anathema to me. Suddenly I couldn't stand him, and that culturally elitist attitude has persisted to the present day. Yet when asked which of the films I've ever seen are the funniest, I have to mention this one. I don't remember much about it -- I saw it in a drive-in on a misty night in 1963 when I was 12 -- but I still recall the scene in the appliance department of the store, with the vacuum cleaner sucking up everything in sight. I don't think I have laughed that hard since -- it's amazing I survived to see the age of 13!