User reviews

A few parts had me howling, even though the rest of the room was dead quiet. But I've always been a fan of Jerry's more subtle "deadpan" humour and surrealistic, wordless scenes where the comedy seeps into you rather than the bang-pow punchline type of laugh.

For example in CINDERFELLA there's that scene where he's trying to light his stepbrother's cigarette. No music, no dialogue, no camera motion at all. Just 120 seconds of pure disaster. Or in NUTTY PROFESSOR there's the hilarious scene where he timidly enters the dean's office--again, no sound, no words, just a thick, hilarious atmosphere.

WAY... WAY OUT has a few of those types of gags, and they were brilliantly done, including one of the funniest gags I've ever seen ("If I'm not mistaken, that's Stella Mary right there"). Unfortunately the film seemed to switch gears halfway through, once they're on the moon, and it became more of a silly sitcom. Still, I enjoyed it until the end.

A word about the visual presentation: magnificent! Sure, we don't generally go to Jerry Lewis movies to see artistic cinematography, but it's there. The sets are surreal (futuristic in a cool retro-60s way). Everything was large and colourful. Shots are framed wonderfully (be sure to see it in widescreen). The camera moves smoothly and brilliantly throughout the action. But then, as I said above, everything changes once they're on the moon. The sets become smaller, more claustrophobic and less grandiose. This returns us to the silly sitcom feel.

Overall it was wacky & entertaining. I think it's best watched by people who are familiar with Jerry's subtle style, rather than his slapstick skits. For that reason I'm afraid most people will be disappointed. But a few of you may really enjoy it.

In 1989, the U.S. Air Force wants to send a newlywed couple into outer space to live on the moon in a space-station for a year; after the first couple drops out, alternate Jerry Lewis is chosen, but he's a bachelor...enter Connie Stevens as a prospective bride. Good-looking Jerry Lewis vehicle is amusingly naive about the future, and yet frustratingly silly regarding sexual matters (Disney's "Moon Pilot" from 1961 was actually much friskier!). Lewis is more restrained than usual, Stevens (despite an odd, helium-sounding speaking voice) is effervescent, and the art direction and decoration is a '60s dream (complete with clear plastic inflatable furniture!). Unfortunately, the script completely peters out once the couple gets launched, and the dreary sub-plots involving bachelors-in-space Dennis Weaver and Howard Morris and sexy Russian cosmonaut Anita Ekberg fail to rouse any laughs. *1/2 from ****

"Way...Way Out" is an unusual Jerry Lewis film mostly because it isn't really a comedy. Sure, it has a few laughs here and there, but the overall effect is more like a commentary about the Cold War than a funny film. To put it bluntly, it isn't particularly funny--though it is interesting.

The film is set in the near future. There is an American and Russian base on the Moon and both are quite small--with two persons in each. As for the American base, the men aboard keep going crazy--presumably because they cannot function without women. But, the Russians have sent a man-woman team and their base is functioning much better. So, the head of the American space agency (an oddly cast Robert Morley) has determined that the next team going to the station will be married. The problem is that the next man scheduled to go (Jerry Lewis) is single and has no particular plans to marry. But, when told they want him to marry a pretty lady (Connie Stevens), he's in favor of the idea--but she isn't. So, the pair agree to go and to marry but not to consummate the marriage. The rest of the film is basically waiting until Stevens changes her mind. In between there is a pretty silly (and forgettable) plot involving the two Russians (Dick Shawn and Anita Ekberg).

The bottom line is that the film lacks laughs but is also inoffensive and an interesting look into the times in which it was made. A must for Lewis fans--otherwise, an inoffensive time-passer and nothing more.

By the way, I am not sure why but if you watch the veteran actor Sig Ruman closely, you can tell his voice is dubbed. Perhaps he had trouble doing the Russian accent credibly.

"Austin Powers" spoofed spy films of the sixties and this film is somewhat in that vein except "Way... Way Out" was made from a sixties perspective, not a nineties perspective. Also, this film spoofed a sacred cow, the space program (Disney's "Moon Pilot" in 1962 covered much of this territory already and if you like one you'll probably like the other...though very few people have heard of either). Any fan of the sixties will recognize likeable Brian Keith (he also starred in "Moon Pilot"), sophisticated Robert Morley, leggy bombshell Anita Ekberg, frumpy character actor Milton Frome, studly James Brolin, wacky Howard Morris, even wackier Dick Shawn, and forever Chester, Dennis Weaver. Jerry Lewis of course is the star and delicious Connie Stevens (who Jerry introduced in the must superior "Rock-a-Bye Baby") is the eye candy. By today's standards one might consider the casting of the actresses for their physical attributes a bit sexist (like that doesn't happen today) but this is a physical comedy and placing Connie Stevens among a group of men (men always have sex on their mind don't you know) is not really all that sexist (at least not for the women). Connie Stevens success has been that she's a good comedian too. Some of the comedy is Benny Hill style (or "Austin Powers") but not crude like contemporary films "Something About Mary" or "Scary Movie."

Way back in the day when I saw this Jerry Lewis film in the theater it seemed a whole lot funnier. I guess the laughs haven't worn that well in 40 years. Certainly their predictions of the future certainly didn't wear that well.

Way Way Out has the USA and the USSR still grappling in the Cold War with the newest theater of that war being the Moon where both superpowers have set up weather stations in the year 2000. The Russians have Anita Ekberg and Dick Shawn there, but being the atheistic Communists they are, the couple has been sent up without benefit of clergy.

But Americans being the moral people that they are have reservations about that. Two men, Dennis Weaver and Howard Morris, have been on the Moon for a year and the sexual tensions are showing badly, especially on Morris. What's fascinating here is that the obvious relief for such tensions isn't hinted or implied. Remember this was America before Stonewall.

So last minute astronaut Jerry Lewis is given a female partner in Connie Stevens in which they say the vows for convention's sake, but don't plan to do any deeds. Bad for the American image if a man and woman live alone on the Moon without being married, we're not godless and atheistic like those Russians.

So the usual situations involving sex, the Cold War, and sex and the Cold War are brought into the story of Way Way Out. Merely the fact that history did not go the way that this film indicates lessens the laughs considerably.

Jerry is more restrained than usual except when he does a drunk act with Shawn after they both get crocked on vodka. Shawn, Robert Morley as the NASA administrator and Brian Keith as an Air Force General go to town in their overacted parts.

Way Way Out belongs in the third tier of Jerry Lewis's films.

Our narrator informs us at the start that our film takes place near the turn of the century, so we must assume it is 1998 or 1999. NASA is now NAWA and is in a pickle. Both the Americans and the Russians are maintaining weather stations on the moon. The Americans have 2 male astronauts while the Russians have a male and female. The problem is, one of the Americans keeps attacking the Russian female because he has gone mad. The head of NAWA sees a publicity coup by arranging for a married American team to replace the 2 men, but everything falls apart when the newly married couple starts fighting. Enter Lewis as Peter Mattemore, the oldest trainee who always finds a way out of actual space flight. Mattemore manages to convince Eileen Forbes (played by the lovable Connie Stevens) to marry him and go to the moon with him. Hilarity ensues after they arrive at their destination to find the 2 Russian cosmonauts (played by Dick Shawn and Anita Eckberg) and find Shawn's character is a sex crazed cossack.

For most of the film Lewis is rather subdued in his acting, only letting some of his comic genius burst out for a few seconds at a time. It isn't until we are 2/3's through the film that the true slapstick that we recognize as Lewis trots out during the party scene with all 4 main characters. Stevens is her usual sexy yet girl next door type. She really makes those clear plastic couches and pillows look good. Eckberg, although more statuesque and built than Stevens, takes a back seat to Connie. Shawn is a zany lunatic that is about the only equal to Lewis when it comes to over the top acting.

Although Jerry Lewis is the star of this mid 60's spoof of the space program he gets plenty of help in providing the comedy. A good supporting cast make this an enjoyable comedy film.

Howard Morris's character Schmidlapp a sex starved American astronaut who's been stationed on the moon far too long is perhaps the best of all. When he sees the gorgeously cute Connie Stevens he loses it. "Maybe she's one of those girls who soaps herself all over..and...then ...gets...into the tub" he tells fellow astronauts Lewis and Dennis Weaver who are wondering how Stevens takes a bath. The late Dick Shawn and Brian Keith are also featured. Like Gilligans Island "Your sure to get a smile" when you see this movie.

Mid 60's sex comedy in space. 2 rocket scientists (Jerry Lewis and incredibly cute Connie Stevens) rushed by the air force into marriage to be the first husband and wife on the moon, There they meet an unmarried couple of Russian cosmonauts (a stunningly statuesque Anita Ekberg's the girl), drink a lot of vodka and get stupid. Unfortunately apart from the couple of guys (Howard Morris and Dennis Weaver) Lewis and Stevens are sent to relieve, after 3 years of isolation together. going crazy and at each others throats for lack of female companionship, the rest of the tepidly "sexy" shenanigans that happen "Way Out" aren't as much fun as what goes on back on earth, Bob Morley gets the best lines and makes the most of them--who cares how a distinguished English gentleman ended up head of the American space program? :-) Brian Keith is hilarious as military brass stereotype Gen. "Howling Wolf" Hallenby, and there's the brief appearance of a ridiculous southern senator Deuce Hawkins (Alex D'arcy} who manages to get in a complaint, topical then, but apropos of nothing else here, that the civil rights movement was going "too fast", a sentiment that seems still to be held by a great number of senators and their constituents to this day. You laugh while you cry when you see something like that all these years later With the advantages of home viewing these days, I'd FF once they arrived on the moon, pausing only to admire the lovely ladies, at home in their spacepod, lounging around in their negligees..

OK, so it's not sophisticated Woody Allen comedy, or even high-tech science fiction. As we say in the math world: givens.

But this one has some pieces which are over the top hilarious. The premise of this movie are noted in other comments and reviews, so I'm not going to waste time on that.

Some things I'll always remember:

**Howard Morris as Schmidlap. A galloping libido, stuck on the moon for a year with no female companionship, who descends into random violence towards Hoffman (played wonderfully by Dennis Weaver), includes two manic exchanges. Hoffman is pleading with the earth to send up replacements when the boss (Robert Morely) notices his front teeth are incomplete, and just casually asks what happened. Whereupon Hoffman responds that Schmidlap, in a testosterone fueled episode, knocked them out. Oh man, classic. The other event was when they're trying to get him in the spacecraft to go home to earth, and they have to practically hit him with a tranq dart to keep him from getting near Connie Stevens. Morris at his screwy, nutty, insanely funny best.

**Brian Keith as General Hallenby. Oh my. Screaming, grumbling, and all with a lack of understanding of what's going on around him that's just rich. His exchange with Lewis, who's told he has to "Secure the moon", results in Lewis, quite appropriately asking why he should do such a thing. Hallenby's response? "None of your damn business, Mattimore, JUST SECURE THE MOON!" As in, you don't have the need to know, so shut up and do what I tell you. Brian Keith's battle with the TV remote is not to be missed.

**Dick Shawn, a truly funny man, as a highly oversexed Russian, in a battle with "instant vodka" (just add water). Watching him struggle with the water jet, and eventually just giving up and swallowing the "instant vodka" tablets and then drinking water (talk about an instant DUI!) is just too priceless. And then, in a fit of western monogamy, he tries to warn Lewis not to try any frolics with Ekberg. His mangling of the word "hanky-panky" is a cheap joke, but Shawn pulls it off so well that I've remembered it for over 40 years.

Yes, this isn't Lewis at his best. For me that will always be the original "Nutty Professor", but in watching a lot of movies in my time I've learned something I think about a lot with him in relation to this movie. It takes a huge talent to let someone else get all the laughs. Very few in movies today have that kind of class, and Lewis did, and does.

So sure, it's not high brow humor. So what? It was funny, in spots, and that's not a bad thing.

If you like silly, spoofy films, this is a great one to watch. Jerry Lewis and Connie Stevens work so well together and, as a big fan of both of them, I am always thrilled when I get the chance to watch this film. They are both so lovable! I especially love the scene where they finally agree to go to the moon together. Dick Shawn gets to provide us another frenetically, wacky character and Anita Ekberg is just a total sexpot. The rest of the supporting cast each add to the fun in their own signature ways. I think that is the best part of this movie; each actor gets to provide us with a great view of what we expect from their comedic side.

Remember when there was Cold War and the Soviets and the Americans both wanted to conquer the space? The year is 1989 and there is an unmarried soviet couple on the moon. The Americans only have two fighting men, so they send astronauts Peter Mattemore and Eileen Forbes there. But they have to get married first. Way Way Out (1966) is a Jerry Lewis movie that is not directed by Jerry Lewis but by Gordon Douglas. Mr. Lewis recently passed away so I watch stuff by him I haven't seen before. This movie is not his better work. It's only mildly amusing. I don't know if the result would have been better Jerry having directed it himself. Sure there's something pretty funny, like both of the wedding scenes. But the Vodka drinking scene simply goes on for too long and it's not that funny. The fact is I'd rather see Jerry doing his childlike act than behaving like that. Connie Stevens plays Eileen and she's good. And Anita Ekberg and Dick Shawn as Anna and Igor. Robert Morley is a lot of fun as Mr. Quonset, the head of NAWA. Dennis Weaver and Howard Morris are funny as Hoffman and Schmidlap. James Brolin and Linda Harrison are also pretty great. Although I didn't find this movie a great Jerry Lewis film, I do think it's rather fascinating to see what kind of a future they create. Like we find out that Richard Nixon plans to come out of retirement to reunite the Republican Party. Can't recall such a thing ever taking place.

We have VHS! So I rented it last night--first laid eyes on this gem back in '66 when I was ten years old. Ten year olds shouldn't see movies like this, hehe.

Jerry Lewis does less of his wacky character here, and tries playing it straight, not for gonzo laughs. He's nearly laid back compared to Robert Morley's curtain rattling performance as Jerry and Connie Stevens "first married couple on the moon. He's a handler like Leo G. Carroll was for Napoleon Solo in the Man From Uncle. Brian Keith appears several times in short inserts as a gruff-but-still-gruffer General who orders third act action where Jerry must "secure the moon".

Sure, all the sets are drenched in futuristic lighting as the story is set sometime after the Sixties, doesn't say when though. So in the background are cool concept cars of the future, during the Earth based scenes. You see solid patches of red and brilliant white furniture,(and very cool clear, plastic pillows), straight out of movies like "In Like Flint" or the British set designer for Sixties movies Ken Adam.

The Moon base location has cool looking pods for sleeping/working--and yes the patented "Batman"-style, big, blinking lights computers are strewn all over your eyeline, which I totally loved as a kid. Lighting-wise, the production simply pours all available light at all times during the indoor moon scenes, which has a television-feel about it; later verified by the technical names, especially Jack Martin Smith, who worked scores of sci-fi/fantasy pics during the Sixties for TV and low budget independents.

The film is super-sexy with tease galore supplied by Anita Ekberg's fab legs, shot from at least three angles during her opening house call on the American married couple living next door on the moon. There's all sort of adult-level innuendo that flew over my head at the time: things about wife swapping, watching two girls makeout on one's wedding night, and others that are cleverly enfolded into the dialog, some PC types of the Two-Thousands would call this "leering" and it probably is, hehe.

Dick Shawn as the Tarzan-like Russian counterpart to Jerry simply does his patented "thing" with grimacing and good accents. There's an extended sequence of everybody getting drunk and kinda swapping, which today's producers would be cutting out because bad things happen to people who drink to excess, right? --oh yeah everybody knows that. The drunk thing was big in the sixties for some reason. Dick Shawn's other picture that year "What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?" had him being drunk through days of story time.

Seeing this movie without any warning would certainly remind some of Austin Powers; it's inescapable really. However I saw this tonight with a 28 year old who reminded me, "Austin Powers got it's look from this, not the other way around"

I am always surprised by the career of Gordon Douglas, who has made all kinds of films: westerns, crime, adventure, science fiction, comedy, musical, drama, war.... A very prolofic and "complete" director. A very good technician. No really proper style. I did not know this Jerry Lewis' film, made in the late sixties, not his best part of career. This not a science fiction movie, despite the plot, topic taking place in space. Norman Taurog or Frank Tashlin, usual Jerry Lewis directors should have made it, and certainly not Douglas, who deserved better than this, really. RIO CONCHOS maker had nothing to prove with this awful mess. Jerry Lewis tries his best to save the result, but it is hopeless.

"Way....Way Out" is about a manned trip to the moon before the actual first manned trip to the moon was a reality, but it's lacking in any sense of wonder, opting for a crude bedroom farce instead; it just happens that the beds are in space. It's talky, static, and barely ever funny, though it does get a shot in the arm from the appearance of sexy Anita Ekberg. * out of 4.

I love crazy sixties films and this is one of them. I'm not a Jerry Lewis fan but I thought he was funny, not over the top or exaggerating. Connie Stevens is very cute in the American girl next door kind of way.

Anita Ekberg surprised me. It was so bizarre that this La Dolce Vita star would team up with Jerry Lewis but she did, and it proves she was a good comedienne too. In this film she's a brunette (awful hairdo, tho) and looks not a little like Garbo! The poor thing has to wear bathing suits the entire film.

Robert Morley is in it too and is as lovable British as ever. He could make any part he played lively and fun. James Brolin and Linda Harrison (Planet of the Apes) are in it too, as is Dennis Weaver.

The special effects are quite good for 1966 and quite camp for today. The title tune by Lalo Schifrin is catchy. I saw this on a German DVD in English with the soundtrack at times changing to German at times. Really bizarre to see Jerry Lewis in space in German!

Saw this as a teen first time it hit TV - and laughed nearly all the way. Many good lines that stand the test of time (you should hear what she wanted to do last night) as well as usual over-the-top performance from Lewis and (more so) from Shawn.

Some of the humour is based on the very REAL socio-political situation with the space race and the cold war, so younger viewers might not always "get it". Too bad. You should still get enough from the rest of the lines. Movie wasn't meant to be "camp" in original release, but should gain somewhat due to campy appearance from a late 90's perspective.

Rent it - have some laughs - and "soap (yourself) all over".

The 1960's were known well for it's campy fun. The same year "Batman" and "Star Trek" debuted, Jerry Lewis comes out with this sci-fi comedy, "Way... Way Out". You got this bungling astronaut named Peter Lattimore (Jerry Lewis) and Eileen Forbes (Connie Stevens) who are assigned to replace two male astronauts because they are doing nothing but be at each other's throats.The longentivity up in the US Weather Station caused them to suffer "adult homesickness" . Peter and Eileen were the last chance of hope in space because the last couple split up. They go up into space, send the two male astronauts back home to Earth, and would later meet the Russian couple, who are not married. They visit the American couple, have a vodka party, and had the young girl sleep over after wards. After hearing a word from the General, Peter jumped the gun and takes out Igor (Dick Shawn). Realizing his error, he clears things with him. The competition seems to never end, my friend. A fun and simple movie, there are a few scenes that are not kid friendly, but not too bad though. 4 out of 5 stars

Jerry Lewis movie, I swear I love this thing. It's better than The Nutty Professor. The Commies have a man and woman on the moon. So the Americans send up Jerry Lewis and Connie Stevens, the first married astronauts. It's an arranged marriage, they barely know each other. So the movie has this sweet vibe as these two married strangers start to fall in love. And there's some moon shenanigans. The Russians invade the space station, and Jerry swallows all the vodka pills. I haven't seen this movie in twenty years--it's not out on DVD, a crime--but I have fond memories. It's a happy flick. And the title song is an inspired bit of 60's pop music.

Way...Way Out is an interesting movie. It pokes fun at the cold war, the military, the Russians(Soviets)and the whole space race!!! Some may say that poking fun at these things is irreverant. But I say that you have to look at the context. In this case the irreverance is fair, completely fair. I say this because Way...Way Out, pokes fun at everyone involved. Way...Way Out is an excellent comedy.