I 7 magnifici Jerry

I wanted to like "The Family Jewels" but found there was more to it to dislike than like. It's really a shame, as some aspects of the film were quite good--but too much of it suffered from extreme overacting.

The film begins with a very rich little girl being told by lawyers that her father's will stipulates that she must move in with one of her five uncles. So, the plan is for her to visit each uncle and spend a couple weeks with each of them--and then she gets to choose the one she'll live with for the rest of her life. The uncles, it turns out, are all played by Jerry Lewis. And, oddly, their unrelated chauffeur also is played by Jerry. So, in many ways the film is reminiscent of such comedies as "Kind Hearts and Coronets", "The Mouse That Roared" and "The Klumps".

There were some parts of the film I liked. A few of the jokes (a distinct minority) were funny and I caught myself laughing a couple times. Additionally, I liked watching the relationship between the chauffeur and the child--showing what I've thought for a long time--that Lewis was EXCELLENT at drama and I wish the film had more of that. But, too often the characters were done with no subtlety and although many reviewers love him, I found much of the antics overbearing and overdone. Subtle, it ain't! It's a shame, as I do like some of Lewis' films--but others just needed less--a lot less.

The father of a 9 year old Donna Peyton (Donna Putterworth) dies and she has to live with one of her six uncles, which are all played by Jerry Lewis.He also plays a chauffeur called Willard Woodward.All the uncles are nutty in a way or an other.There is a clown and the other is like Jerry's character in The Nutty Professor.The Family Jewels (1965) is a movie, that mr Lewis also directed and wrote.I remember when I saw it in 1998, when I was 16 and liked it very much.As a huge Jerry Lewis fan I was delighted to see Jerry Lewis in seven.He and the young Donna do both great job in this movie.This is a funny comedy which ain't a wonder since it's a Jerry Lewis film.It makes me glad to read from IMDB that he's making an appearance in a movie called Miss Cast Away this year.Let's hope we'll see this 78 year old comedian in more movies in the future.

I'll give Lewis credit: even though this one isn't on par with the uproarious stuff he and Dean Martin did or even with "The Disorderly Orderly" or "The Nutty Professor", "The Family Jewels" shows Lewis doing what he does best.

Running amok.

Playing no less than seven characters here, Lewis changes costumes, accents and venues but stays just as addled in all of them. This time, he plays a chauffeur who takes care of a little girl (Butterworth, a novice here and since) and shuttles her between six brothers (all Lewis again) who vie to be guardian of her and the millions of dollars she will inherit.

Of course, it's interesting to see that he brings back (in shape only) his character from "The Nutty Professor". Good to see him.

And only Lewis could make a slapstick free-for-all in which Anne Baxter makes a cameo.

It's good, nutty fun for all and definitely a better choice than his later work. "The Family Jewels" - definitely a "Jewel" in the rough.

Eight stars.

My friends and I laughed so hard. Even at age 10 I thought the movie was totally funny and engaging. Jerry Lewis was my favorite comic back then and I also liked the child actress Donna Butterworth. She and Jerry had chemistry. I loved the characters and I remember Sabastian Cabot trying to squeeze into or out of a car; too funny.

Whatever happened to Donna Butterworth? She acted in an Elvis movie and that was it for her. If anyone knows, let me know.

I have been familiar with both The Family Jewels and Paradise Hawaiian Style for many years, but it was only when I coincidentally bought both on DVD recently that I realised Donna Butterworth starred in both. I'm not sure her name even registered with me in the past. However, her performances in both films are winning and funny and I imagine she grew up to be a very lovely person. Her singing is sensational in what is otherwise a lesser Elvis Presley film (directed by Michael Moore (!) but not the Sicko guy). The audio commentary and special features on The Family Jewels provide some interesting information and background about Donna. Jerry claims to have discovered Donna in Hawaii and we see amusing and heartwarming screen tests of them together among the special features. She is now 50 or so years old and I hope she is proud of them. If you're reading this Donna, hi from me.