Bill Richmond Movies

Eddie Murphy gives one of Jerry Lewis' best-remembered vehicles a 1990s overhaul in this hit comedy. Sherman Klump (Murphy) is a college professor and respected biochemistry researcher who is kind, considerate, and a genuinely nice guy. Sherman is also appallingly overweight; coupled with the fact that he's painfully shy and a bit clumsy, his romantic prospects are rather bleak. When Sherman finds himself working with a pretty graduate student, Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett), he falls in love and is eager to impress her, but at an upscale nightclub, his weight attracts the attention of an insult comic (Dave Chappelle) and his bumbling spoils the evening. Sherman's latest project is a genetic weight loss formula, and despondent over his failure to win Carla's heart, he subjects himself to a massive dose. Suddenly, Sherman is transformed into the slim, trim, and handsome Buddy Love; however, the drug also boosts his testosterone level, turning the likable Sherman into the arrogant, skirt-chasing Buddy. In addition to playing Sherman and Buddy, Eddie Murphy also plays four other members of the porcine Klump family, as well as eccentric exercise guru Lance Perkins. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Co-written by Paul Reubens and Phil Hartman, Pee Wee's Big Adventure marks the debut of director Tim Burton, who stamps the entire film with his quirky trademark style. The premise: Pee Wee (Reubens), an overgrown pre-pubescent boy sporting a molded Princeton cut, blush, lipstick, and a shrunken gray flannel suit, lives an idyllic life in his bizarre home (some have compared the remarkable set design to the expressionistic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) until someone nabs his most prized possession: a fire engine-red customized bicycle. He then embarks on an epic cross-country search to find his lost love, not to mention more than a little adventure. Along the way, he makes friends with various oddball characters, visits the Alamo, endures various hallucinatory nightmares, and has a supernatural run-in with a spectral trucker. In this reprisal of his popular standup routine, Reubens is wonderful as the nerdy man child; he plays it silly, yet he manages to imbue the role with some sensitivity without ever seeming maudlin. The score by Danny Elfman is terrific -- as is the case in nearly every film Burton has directed -- and the script is fresh and inventive. Some of the most memorable moments: the opening sequence involving Pee Wee's morning activities is a stroke of genius (note the bunny slippers and talking breakfast), as are the scenes at the truck stop, and the "Hollywood" version of Pee Wee's story at the end (starring James Brolin and Morgan Fairchild in surprise cameos). In all, Pee Wee's Big Adventure is a delightful film, enjoyable for children as well as adults. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi

Once again, Archie is driven into a state of apoplexy over a decision made by Mike and Gloria. This time around, the Stivics have decreed that, in the event of their deaths, the guardianship of baby Joey will be handed over to Mike's best friends. Not unexpectedly, Archie hotly demands that he be put in charge of his grandchild's welfare. This episode represents the first time that Jason Draeger and Justin Draeger, the twin infants playing Joey, are given onscreen credit. Written by Bill Richmond and Gene Perret, "Mike and Gloria's Will" was first telecast on November 20, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jerry Lewis is aptly cast as The Big Mouth in this production (he also served as producer, director and cowriter). As bad luck would have it, Lewis is the exact double of a notorious gangster. The bad guys who think they've disposed of the gangster are taken aback when they see Jerry strolling about, while several other disreputable characters chase after Lewis in the mistaken assumption that our hero knows the whereabouts of a cache of stolen diamonds. Charlie Callas provides some good moments as a hit man who is so unnerved by Jerry's "resurrection" that he turns into a babbling idiot (so what else is new?) There's also a cute bit involving a Kabuki dance troupe. Overall, however, The Big Mouth suffers from the Curse of Jerry: too much repetition, too many pointless gags (will someone explain why Colonel Sanders makes a guest appearance?) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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 an airplane crash, his team of flunkies -- producer Caryl Fergusson (Everett Sloane), writer Chic Wymore (Phil Harris), press agent Harry Silver (Keenan Wynn), director Morgan Heywood (Peter Lorre in his final film role), valet Bruce Alden (John Carradine), and secretary Ellen Betz (Ina Balin) -- decide to continue their life style by finding a complete unknown and manufacturing him into a Hollywood star. That unknown turns out to be the nervous and inept bellboy Stanley Belt (Jerry Lewis). They train Stanley to become an over-night singing sensation, and despite a disastrous recording session and a failed nightclub performance, the public relations blitz makes Stanley's recording of "I Lost My Heart in a Drive-In Movie" a smash single. So much so that Stanley is given a shot at appearing on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Expecting the worst, Stanley's management team abandons him right before his performance. But Stanley musters up enough confidence to go on the live program alone and manages to surprise his pessimistic ex-staff. A collection of Hollywood celebrities circa 1964 --George Raft, Ed Wynn, Ed Sullivan, Mel Torme, Rhonda Fleming and Hedda Hopper -- make cameo appearances. High spots include an apocalyptic music lesson with voice teacher Dr. Mule-rrr (Hans Conried), Ed Sullivan performing a bizarre impersonation of himself, and an ending that would make even Jean-Luc Godard blush. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Comedian Jerry Lewis began directing movies in 1960, and this often unkind satire on the nature of American womanhood is one of his early efforts in that regard. The rubber-legged, rubber-faced Lewis plays Herbert, a man who is despondent over the break-up of his romance. While looking for a job, he comes across an impressive mansion (built as a set at the cost of $350,000) filled with women of all types -- and lo and behold -- they need a handyman. So Herbert gets to reside with a bevy of women of various types, all under the supervision of Mrs. Wellenmelon (Helen Traubel). In the end, the set itself outtrumps them all. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Jerry Lewis now claims that his film directorial debut came about when his home studio, Paramount, needed a summer-release Lewis vehicle in a hurry. Jerry and his entourage headed to the Fountainbleu hotel in Miami Beach, and 29 days later returned with The Bellboy. As narrator Walter Winchell (and an actor pretending to be a Paramount executive in a pre-credits bit) explain, the film has no plot and no point; it merely exists for the audience's enjoyment. Lewis plays nebbishy bellhop Stanley, a nonspeaking bumbler who alternates between screwing up and taking his job too seriously. The film's Tati-like gags involve a Volkswagen engine, an overweight guest, a woman with a come-hither voice, a very effective flash bulb, an episode at the Greyhound track, a golf tournament, and a passenger jet. Weaving in and out of the proceedings is Lewis' cowriter (and former drummer) Bill Richmond, made up as the spitting image of Stan Laurel (the real Laurel was approached to play himself, but he gently turned Jerry down, insisting that his aged appearance would disappoint his fans). Miami habitues B.S. Pully, Joe E. Ross, Cary Middlecoff, The Novelites make cameo appearances, as does Milton Berle. Made for peanuts, The Bellboy amassed a fortune, assuring that Jerry Lewis would be permitted to direct many of his own films in the future. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi