My Friend Irma

Solid if unspectacular movie that is of interest mainly for being the debut of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis. As a beginning piece for the duos body of work it does set something of a standard, a kind of benchmark niche as it were, Martin sings and gets to woo the sexy lady whilst Jerry clowns around and gets the laughs, not that there are too many laughs to be had here because there isn't that many if one is honest. Yet the film still has a 40s charm with it's array of interesting characters that never stretch to annoying limits, performances are steady from all involved, and as a romantic comedy it is well worth a watch, and not least because it has a very interesting segment about who should be the bigger name of the two out of Masrtin & Lewis........now that one makes for quite a story some way down the line wink wink. 5/10 and worth a watch on its own merit for fans of cheeky charm 40s rom-coms, and of course for Martin/Lewis completists like me.

This is one of my 2nd favorite Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin movies the only one that is better is The Caddy. This movie was also the first of D/M & J/L that I had ever seen. It's quiet little movie but with so many good songs and lots and lots of great laughs by Jerry and a couple of laughs from Irma. This comes highly recommended by me and I hope that you see it after you've read my comment. 9/10

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.

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.