Cracking Up (a/k/a Smorgasbord)

If you loved Jerry this is for you goes up & beyond any of his films {except his Las one such gave me sadness}he played a great role in that film... I started watching when I was a lil gurl in love with him as a lil gurl he made me laugh this is a cut scene movie little skits but covers a storyline under hilarious banter after the 1st scene in the shrinks office I was in hysterics back then it still cracks me up like bust ypur gut funny this is also stick slap as the ole saying goes so good you'll slap granny lol-Dont slap granny but have the oxygen tank ready cuz the laughter don't stop even the credits are a riot I have it on vhs but soon those will perish was glad to find this so incredibly funny a must have for JL fans & collectors if you don't laugh at this one your giggle box is broke I've seen it a zillion times it nvr gets old buy it b4 it slips away (R.I.P) to the legendary funny man that is in heaven making the angels laugh💞

I loved the corny, at times subtle screwball comedy. Some familiar actors are in it. Outlandish farce that's a real good belly laugh for Jerry Lewis fans everywhere. I've seen it a dozen times and still laugh. Don't turn your head, you might miss something!! Enjoy.

Jerry Lewis wrote and directed some classic comedy films such as The Bellboy, The Errand Boy, The Ladies Man, The Nutty Professor, The Patsy and The Family Jewels. He had a patented character stuck in adolescence and virginity. But when the 60's ended, his Jewish schlemiel character was eclipsed by Woody Allen and Mel Brooks who could be funny while having sex. Lewis attempted a movie comeback with Hardly Working, which followed Steve Martin's The Jerk by a year and promoted itself on the poster as "the original Jerk". He tried using the same adolescent schlemiel character, but it didn't fit on a middle-aged man with bags under his eyes. It wasn't as funny as his previous auteur comedies and he had trouble getting studio backing for Cracking Up (also known as Smorgasbord). But this time, it seemed like Jerry had been watching a lot of Mel Brooks films and updated his character with a lot of pee-pee doo-doo jokes and a lot of ogling breasts. It worked. It was his funniest movie in years, and it could have been the start of a whole new chapter in his movie career, but it wasn't properly promoted and died at the box office, so he never wrote and directed another movie. It's a shame. See this movie. It is funny.

This film is a much better effort than Jerry Lewis' disjointed & muddled "Hardly Working" (although HW was a hit at the box office). The nicest thing you could say about HW is: 1. It marked Lewis' return to movies after a decade of exile. 2. It paved the way for better films. "Cracking Up" is among his better "comeback" efforts.Using his tried & true "free form" directing style to tell the comic tale of what has to be the most hapless soul on the planet, Lewis does an older version of his "jerk" persona who seeks help from a psychiatrist (nicely played by Herb Edelman) to cure him. From the opening scenes of Lewis sliding all over the shrink's slick office floor to the film's payoff gag (Lewis is cured, but the doctor discovers he's inherited his patient's problems), it's just one hilarious moment after another. The couch sessions provide a loose framework upon which Lewis' character introduces zany stories of suicide attempts & histories of luckless relatives.There's a bonus of guest appearances from Sammy Davis, Jr. & Milton Berle (Uncle Miltie in drag, naturally).While not quite the classic that early Lewis films such as "The Bellboy" & "The Errand Boy" were, I dare you not to laugh at this one. Lewis hasn't lost his talent for making people laugh. Check it out!

His "darkest" movie since "The Patsy", this occasionally odd '83 mix of mild satire of contemporary life with quiet but serious pokes at various professions, most notably Psychiatry (Herb Edelman is the low-key cliche-ridden analyst who asks his patient, Nefron, how many visists have transpired, not by number of visits but by number of dollars); but in a more fun way, at the many occupations *attempted* by Jerry.Interesting family flashbacks, as the patient recounts trials and tribulations of ancestry....who also do not exactly have their act together. A French prisoner in the Bastille even struggles to keep his French accent going, as actor Lewis adlibs that it's easy to slip into his "Japanese" voice!A good number of hilarious bits to be treasured by aficcionados and students of film comedy. Lewis in his mid-50s is spry and vital and has retained the best comic timing since Stan Laurel - showing Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short, and the rest how physical comedy is done; how a touch of pathos can make a scene memorable.Fun to watch Lewis "players" like Bill Richmond and Buddy Lester do their thing. (Who can forget one of the funniest scenes in history, back in 1961, as JL, "The Ladies Man" helps Lester "clean up" for a date with one of the many ingenues at the Boarding house for young women?).Uncle Miltie shows up in "drag" - a good premise is dragged out, however. Sammy Davis, Jr., is also on the scene, looking fit and playing himself. Good job.Most of Lewis' films do have a good number of prolonged and pointless passages, and, sadly, with Cracking Up, we must bear some extra-curious, embarrassing tries at "adult" humour, replete with juvenile toilet jokes - the kind of thing which became a staple of Cable TV and Radio talk shows. Enough said.In the end, it's nice to see Jerry Lewis, though somewhat subdued, deliver a true "Jerry picture" at that juncture in his career.

I recently bought this dvd and have never laughed so much, this is another great comedy written by Jerry Lewis and Bill Richmond, the furnishings and consequences of the psychiatrist consulting room is an absolute gem and so Jerry and Bill. For a man who was55/56 (and still amazingly handsome) when he made this movie he manages to throw himself around (without apparent injuries) as he did when he was in his twenties, how's that for guts. His performances (he plays several roles ) remain funny, wacky, and zany. A thoroughly enjoyable movie as only Jerry can make, great viewing a must if you are a Lewis fan

what can I say - great in every sense - perfect in timing - Jerrys last one - and it is

Film à sketches où j'ai vraiment rit aux larmes dès l'entrée de jeu de Jerry Lewis chez un Psy. alors qu'il glisse partout dans le bureau, sans parole, mais quelle adresse de ce comédien hors pairs.

Yes, now I'm completely cracked up.. thanks

Der Film ist zwar nur auf Englisch, aber bei diesen Gags braucht es gar keine Worte. Man kommt aus dem Lachen gar nicht mehr raus, besonders wenn man Jerry Lewis Fan ist.Einfach super.