Errado pra Cachorro

Who's Minding the store is Jerry Lewis at his very best! Frank Tashlin directing, and with Tashlin directing Lewis, you know it's going to be a CLASSIC. One moment after another in this 1963 film, Jerry Lewis leads the audience into one madcap nutfilled scene after another, from the scene where Jerry's supposed to be selling gourmet "De-Lights" food, being forced to eat Fried ants in a scent free sauce, to trying to sell shoes to a 300 Lb. Female Wrestler, who's actually been hired to make Jerry want to quit... Well this film is as funny as any film of the 1960's, included are the Pink Panther, Shot in the Dark and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World....

This is also one film of Jerry's that you really don't have to be a fan of Jerry's to appreciate...with an awesome supporting comedy cast of Agnes Moorehead, John McGiver, Ray Walston Jill St. John, this film in my opinion is Jerry Lewis FINEST, without Dean Martin, and maybe his best of all-time. (But that would take alot of doing.) My advice, If you get the opportunity to see "Who's Minding the Store?" See it, if you don't find it utterly hilarious, it's time to make an appointment with the undertaker.

TEX AVERY in flesh and blood, that was Jerry Lewis for me, who usually hates comedies. But here, it is an absolute must see, directed by a very inspired Frank Tashlin, one of the Hollywood comedy magicians, especially for "visual" comedies. With Jerry Lewis, they fit together as Lon Chaney Sr with Tod Browning or Alain Delon and Lino Ventura with Jean-Pierre Melville. The magic formula, fantastic recipe which the result can be seen with this film. The ending could be seen as some kind of satire of the consumerism, modern consumerism. I guess it was shown in the Soviet Union, to criticize the American way of life. And I was very amused by one of the character's name: Quimby; a tribute, for me, to Fred Quimby, the famous TEX AVERY cartoon creator.

This is one of the funniest films in the career of Jerry Lewis. This film can pretty much be seen as a series of vignettes as Norman bounces around from department to department as he tries to earn enough money to marry the woman he loves. Also, the rest of the cast give solid performances especially John McGiver, Ray Walston and Agnes Moorehead. Walston is great as the weasel of a store manager who does everything he can to break Norman. McGiver is outstanding as Mr. Tuttle who in the process of the film turns from a milquetoast to a tiger as he finally stands up to his wife, Phoebe. However, Agnes Moorehead is perfect as Phoebe Tuttle and she pretty much plays a mortal version of Endorra, the character she would play less than a year later on "Bewitched".

However, the one negative criticism of the film that I have is the fact that like what a couple of other commentators said was the fact that this film is pretty much takes great joy in bashing women. Other than that this is a great film.

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!

"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)