Le clown est roi

This must have been a tough film for Dean Martin to make. After all, his character is a bit of a jerk and he garners so sympathy or love from the audience in this one. As for Jerry, he is an oddball in this one--not bad at all, but also not exactly funny. Instead, he's amusing and it's nice to see him take on a lot of different jobs at the circus.

When the film begins, Pete (Dean) and Jerry (Jerry) are leaving the army. They have no prospects and are mostly just concerned with getting a free meal when they wander into a circus. But Jerry would love to one day be a clown--but en route he tries his hand at lion taming, tightrope walking and even getting fired out of a giant cannon! As for the unlikable Pete, he's a schemer and loves it when the circus' resident prima donna (Zha Zha Gabor) falls for him--as he is allow to loaf about and not get fired because he's her boy- toy. Later, as Pete takes on more and more responsibilities with running the circus, he begins to act like it's his and is a pretty obnoxious guy--so much so that his pal, Jerry, becomes rather disillusioned with him. Does this sound like a comedy? No...well you get the picture. It has some sweet moments and Jerry gets to do quite a bit--but Dean is in a thankless role as the film lumbers along. Certainly not one of their better films since the chemistry that made the team enjoyable is a bit lacking.

This is another Martin & Lewis movie I watched on YouTube. Like one of their previous films-The Stooge-there's some drama mixed in with the by-now familiar comedy associated with the team especially Jerry whenever he gets excited about something. But while I thought it was a mistake in The Stooge to have Lewis seem to still act naive most of the time, here he believably becomes a bit smarter as the narrative goes on. Also, since he does calm down here, he reverts to his natural voice whenever that happens which also contributes to a more natural mix of comedy and drama. It's also refreshing to see Dean be more of a supporter for Jer instead of occasionally treating him like dirt like in The Caddy. Likewise for when that does happen, it doesn't happen for long. He has two leading ladies this time: Zsa Zsa Gabor as the egotistical trapeze artist, and Joanne Dru as the circus owner who he calls "Boss Lady". Both are adequate enough in their roles. Then there's Gene Sheldon as the alcoholic star clown who Jerry seems to idolize despite his treatment by him. It's a good enough dramatic performance for him. Like I said, there are some expected outrageously hilarious comical scenes like when Jer has to tame some lions or when he convinces The Bearded Lady (Elsa Lanchester) to let him shave her. But this was also one of the more sentimental of M & L's movies as evidenced by the finale when Lewis in his clown makeup tries to cheer up a sad little girl in the audience. So on that note, I recommend 3 Ring Circus. P.S. Watch for occasional Lewis regular Kathleen Freeman as a victim of a custard.

Dean and Jerry are more relaxed in this film than in previous efforts. The comedy is also milder. It is also the first time Jerry indulges in his sentimental clown shtick. Hello, telethon Jerry! Dean has absolutely nothing to do in the film. He plays his usual heel character, but there is absolutely no depth to it. And where are the musical numbers? Only the woefully unfunny "That's My Boy" has less in the way of music! Dean and Jerry get to do one new number, "Puncinello", and Dean sings the standard "It's a Big, Wide Wonderful World" to a bunch of animals! (Hugh Shannon, the wonderful jazz singer-pianist who is most identified with this song, must have had a good laugh from Dean's version.) Dean has no ballads and hardly any screen time with his leading lady, Joanne Dru. It's all about Jerry, not silly, lovable Jerry, but a telethon Jerry, trying to become a clown. Actually, the film is quite amusing and heartwarming, but it's not Martin and Lewis. I do not know if Twenty-first Century youngsters would find this amusing, but I did when I was a kid. It is more endearing than "That's My Boy" and most of the solo Lewis films. It may be a bit slow for today's kids.

Jerry Lewis plays Jerome F. 'Jerry' Hotchkiss and Dean Martin is Peter 'Pete' Nelson, two friends who find work at the circus.Jerry's dream is to become a master clown, which he did become in real life.Joseph Pevney's 3 Ring Circus offers something for the Martin and Lewis fans they're asking for.Jerry is as zany and funny as always and Dean is as smooth and wonderful as he ever was.There are also stars like Kathleen Freeman and Zza Zza Gabor in the movie.I saw this movie in 1998 and I would like to see it again, as I would like to see a bunch of other Jerry Lewis films.This is the day when Jerry Lewis turns 80 years old.He still hasn't fully retired.On IMDb it said he's making a cameo in a movie called Horrorween, which comes out next year.He also wrote a book called Dean and Me: A Love Story.You should all read it.I sure would if only I could find it from this country.This grand old man has made so many people laugh over the years that all I can say to him is thank you.Laughter is something we all need these days.

Reports I've read state that "3 Ring Circus" was a very troubled production, ranging from stars Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis demanding a lot of script changes through filming to the fact that their partnership was at this stage becoming very strained. All of this turmoil may explain why the end results do not manage to be all that humorous. Much of the movie is surprisingly played in a lower key than usual; even Lewis doesn't go all out like he did in other movies. I will say that Lewis all the same is pretty good, especially when he's in clown makeup and performing in front of an audience. Martin does try, but the script for the most part makes him a kind of a heel instead of a humorous straight man, and often doesn't seem to know what to do with his character. There also isn't a heck of a lot of plot on display as well. The movie had potential, but this is definitely one case where everyone involved should have come to some sort of agreement first about how to do the movie - or simply not have done the movie at all.