My Friend Irma

My friend Irma is the first of 16 films that Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made together, and it's their worst, and only one of two that aren't very good. The reason is Lewis and his character of Seymour. He is a constant complaining, loud, obnoxious character who adds zero comedy to this film. Fortunately, the duo are not the lead stars of the film.

That billing goes to John Lund, Diana Lynn and Marie Wilson. Most of the comedy is provided by Lund's Al, and Wilson's Irma Peterson. She provides some scatterbrained humor, and Lund is a riot playing the tough, uneducated but sly con artist. Those two performances trump the terrible Lewis role and raise mediocre roles of Martin's Steve and Diana Lynn's Jane Stacey. Don DeFore is good as Richard Rhinelander, also providing some comedy.

The later pairings of Martin and Lewis have Jerry toning down his loud, complaining characters and then dropping that for good comedy and antics.

Here are the better lines from this film.

Al, "Chicken, believe me. You've got no chance to win this contest." Irma Peterson, 'Why not?" Al, "For one thing, all contest winners live in one of two places - Butte, Montana, or Keokuk, Iowa." Irma, "I'll move." Al, "... And the only other way you can win a contest is if you have a husband who isn't working and you 're the mother of 32 children."

Steve, "But what's the sense of living if you have to kill yourself?"

Steve. "Well, that's me - never a director, always a chauffeur."

Mrs. Rhinelander, "Well, what is she, a neurotic?" Irma Peterson, "Her religion has nothing to do with it."

Irma Peterson, "It's just that your son has so much money that she is drawn to him like a maggot." Mrs. Rhinelander, "A maggot?"

Al, "Chicken, you're cryin'. What's happened?... You didn't lose your job?" Irma, "Oh, no." Al, "Oh, you had me scared for a minute."

Radio Contest Announcer, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're about to call the winner of the mammoth $50,000 gift contest. There goes the giant wheel and someone will be the lucky winner. Our telephone operator is waiting to call the lucky winner who is Mrs. Hilda Platz of Keokuk, Iowa, the mother of 32 children." Irma Peterson, "Al was right."

Radio Contest Announcer, "Hold it, folks. Mrs. Platz is disqualified - she has no phone. And there goes the wheel again and the call goes to Miss Irma Peterson."

Dean martin, jerry lewis. But they don't get top billing, this was their first splash in the movies! John lund, diana lynn, and don defore get the lead positions in this hal wallis production. Lots going on in this silly one. Irma's boyfriend thinks he can make singers out of steve and seymour. But of course, they are all sharing one little apartment, so they get on each other's nerves. And irma goes overboard trying to keep her new job. It's fun, but pretty silly. It started as a radio show, and was adapted to a full length film. And even has a sequel "my friend irma goes west". If you're not in the right mood, i can see where it would get on your nerves! Seems to be where jerry lewis started using that high pitched, annoying baby voice he used for so long (too long!) Some innerastin production notes in the imdb trivia section. And keep an eye out for professor kropotkin, in front of the restaurant; hans conried was doctor terwiliker in 5000 fingers, and did the voices for the hobbit, snidely whiplash, and captain hook. It's pretty good, as long as you are in the mood for it! Directed by george marshall.

Just rewatched this film which marked the debut of the comedy team of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis on YouTube. They're shoehorned almost awkwardly into it since this movie was based on a popular radio sitcom about a young woman named Jane Stacy (Diana Lynn) who's trying to snag a rich guy named Rhinelander (Don DeFore) by working as his secretary and having to deal with her scatterbrained roommate Irma Peterson (Marie Wilson) and her con artist boyfriend Al (John Lund). Martin & Lewis are a couple of orange juice stand employees named Steve and Seymour who's discovered by Irma and Al as Steve sings a little something there. Despite many contrivances, the way Jane and Irma seem to fit certain stereotypes of women at the time, and the fact that Irma cries constantly whenever she realizes when it's her fault, this was quite funny especially whenever Lewis is on screen. And Martin shows just how appealing a crooner he was though I'm sure even then some thought he was just a Bing Crosby imitator. The cast as a whole manages to make the somewhat slight material go down easy. In fact, one of my favorite lines comes from a bit player named Hans Conried who says of Irma and Jane, "One with her head in the air and the other with air in her head." So on that note, My Friend Irma is worth a look for comedy fans especially that of Dean & Jerry.

This is a strange little comedy in which the appearances of Dean and Jerry almost seem an afterthought. "My Friend Irma" was already a successful radio comedy featuring the brilliant Marie Wilson. Marie played a hard core scatterbrain who had a knack for getting herself into and out of trouble. When it was decided to bring Irma to the big screen, I think Paramount decided to hedge their bets by including Dean and Jerry. This unlikely trio of comedians seems occasionally at odds struggling for whatever laughs might exist in this thin script. But there are some definite highlights for all of them, and the climax presents a bizarre commentary on how much the effects of consumerism had absorbed the American culture just a few years after World War II. The dippy Irma wins a radio contest by accident, and the last scene milks every last ounce of joke material out of the fact that she has been rewarded with a mountain of expensive presents.

A musical comedy with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis that, unlike many others, is not focused exclusively on the comedy duo, leaving room for other characters to shine.

With Martin more as a singer than a romantic actor and Lewis, although exuberant as ever, reduced to an almost secondary role, I would say that the ones who stand out the most in this film are the duo Diana Lynn and Marie Wilson, the first with an unquestionable charm and charisma and the second with a very amusing role, which she plays perfectly, a kind of female version of Jerry Lewis, much more restrained and elegant, but no less fun for that. A pleasant surprise.