They Love Him in France

So, if I hate Jerry Lewis so much, why do I keep watching his movies? I hate to say it, but I respect his craft. I find his voice grating, his style either irritating or saccharine, and yet - he is really good at what he does. And in The Bellboy, he does what he does in the purest way.

The Bellboy is set in Miami Beach's famed Fountainbleu Hotel. It is a loose series of sketches centered around Lewis' bellboy character, Stanley. Like the M. Hulot comedies, the hotel and its rituals are a character in themselves. Like Tati, Lewis doesn't speak much, although this is not a silent comedy. Maybe the reason I liked this so much is that we don't have to listen to Lewis' adenoidal ravings.

The sketches are silly, touching, and sometimes quite surreal. Jerry Lewis turns up as himself, the movie star, surrounded by an impenetrable entourage. Milton Berle sees Stanley the bellhop and Lewis the star, and can't figure out what is going on. But you can figure out where this is going.

But the fun is seeing it go there. A lot of the gags are just Jerry doing a series of "takes" - something happens and Lewis:

• Looks to the side, frowns
• Opens mouth to speak, maybe raises a finger
• Shakes head, frowns
• Looks front, back to the side - double take
• Starts to speak again
• Raises eyebrows, purses lips in "Oh well" shape

And so on.

It might sound like I'm making fun of this, but Jerry Lewis has raised it to an artform. You might not laugh out loud, but if you watch closely, you'll learn a lot. To give you a clue, Lewis includes a Stan Laurel impersonator to guide you.

Also, I'm living in Florida now. A long way from Miami Beach and a long time from 1960, when this was made (Lewis' directorial debut). Still, I wanted to get a little bit of the flavor of the state.