(1983)
1.5
Donald Guarisco
Jerry Lewis's last feature film to date as director is totally informed by his style and comedic obsessions. Unfortunately, Cracking Up is one of his lesser works despite its distinctive approach. The script arranges a variety of setpieces around the thinnest thread of a plot and, as a result, it lives and dies by the quality of these setpieces. Sadly, the results are hit-and-miss: the titles sequence, involving Lewis doing battle with an over-waxed floor, is quite funny but extended gags involving a cheap commuter airline and a swami demanding surgery without anesthesia drag on interminably and offer few laughs in the bargain. Lewis schticks it up as the star, bringing plenty of energy to the goofiest of comedic premises, but his work as director is surprisingly flat: there's none of the visual inventiveness or formal daring that defined earlier classics like The Errand Boy or The Nutty Professor. Thus, Cracking Up is best left to the diehard Lewis fans -- and even they are likely to find it rough going.
Cracking Up on AllMovie
Cracking Up (1983)
