The Patsy

Toward the end of Jerry Lewis's Paramount studio period, Lewis slapped together this bitter comedy about Hollywood phoniness and fame that has to be the most rancid portrait of the Hollywood star system in the Rat Pack era this side of Clifford Odets. When a famous entertainer suddenly is killed in ...more

The films that Jerry Lewis directed could get self-reflexive but few ever took it as far as The Patsy. On the surface, it has a typical Lewis-film premise: a lovable loser gets in over his head but triumphs thanks to his innate decency and a little help from a loving woman. The Patsy also delivers the expected laughs: highlights include a scene where Lewis botches an attempt to lip-synch a terrible pop record on a teen dance show, another moment where he drives two of his minders mad by ...more