Old viper John Simon once joked that Jerry Lewis could cure muscular dystrophy overnight if during his next Labor Day telethon Lewis announced he would disappear forever if everyone watching sent in 25 cents. One of the worst of the two billion degradations in our current cancel culture is that far more people think of Lewis (those who remember him) in terms of "his kids" and that annual telethon than think of him as one of the great movie directors of his age. Which he was.
Lewis's movies are deep and complex and necessary, movies which are especially beautiful to look at, with amazing and ever-changing pace. And it is here where we begin to understand just how deeply and devoutly Jerry Lewis believed in the magic and in the transformative possibilities of movies themselves. His Total Filmmaker is one of the best (and funniest) filmmaking books around.
French filmmaker Gregory Monro has created a lovely documentary celebrating Lewis's art, Jerry Lewis: The Man Behind the Mask.
