That's My Boy

I'm not a big fan of Martin and Lewis movies, though I think I saw all of them over the years. When I was a kid, I was a bit of a fan so I tried to see the films whenever they came on television. Of all their films together, this one is my favorite. It may not be hilarious from start to finish, but for this comedy team it is awfully good.

Lewis is very funny as the extremely clumsy and nerdy son of the rugged Eddie Mayehoff. Martin plays a football-playing student who Mayehoff WISHES were his son--in order to carry on the legacy. You see, because MANY years earlier Mayehoff had been a big college football star and he was beside himself having an embarrassment for a son. So, he makes Martin a proposition--take Lewis under his wing and make him a real man. In exchange, Mayehoff will bankroll Martin's college expenses.

What ultimately happens is a bit predictable but worth watching. The scene I particularly enjoyed watching was when Mayehoff took Lewis hunting! Good work by Martin & Lewis and a film that deserves to be seen a bit more often.

By the way, I am not sure if I'd consider this to be the team's best film or "The Stooge". "That's My Boy" is certainly a lot funnier but there's something likable about the oddly realistic "The Stooge".

"Gotta hit 'em low, hit 'em hard, and if they get up, hit 'em again. Gotta play GUTS football!" Poor Junior Jackson (Lewis) is the weak, uncoordinated, allergy-prone son of Jarring Jack Jackson, former Ridgeville football alum now trying to relive his collegiate days of glory through Junior. Studly Bill Baker (Martin) becomes the dorm-mate Jackson arranges to mentor Junior in football and other aspects of, uh, manhood. The plot is fairly predictable, but this is one hilarious movie about father-son relationships, college life, football, manhood, friendship, and girls (not in that particular order.) Martin & Lewis were never better together, along with a superb supporting cast. A classic comedy with heart.

This is a somewhat funny movie with one serious flaw in it....Jerry Lewis's voice!....it was so irritating I had to turn the volume down....he talks with a half baby boy half nerd voice that gets under your skin....in his next few movies he had the same voice but not quite as bad,but in this one its so over the top it ruins any humor in that scene....and many times when he is talking he sounds like he is about to cry...I kept wishing Dean Martin would just land one clean punch when he started his whining....his next movie Sailors Beware was much better...simply too much Junior....and of course its always fun to see Jerry Lewis before he greased up his hair and transformed himself into Dean Martin.

This is a very funny Martin & Lewis classic. D eano plays the popular American footballplayer and Lewis is quite enjoyable as the classic clown. Although not as good as Laurel & Hardy, still very good entertainment after 50 years.

This is another Martin & Lewis movie I watched on YouTube. In this one, Jerry plays the son of Eddie Mayehoff who is a former college football hero who's still reliving his glory days whenever he wakes up in the morning but his son isn't even close to being that good athletically. So this father asks fellow high school graduate-and football hero-Dean Martin to room with him so he can train him to play the game. I'll stop there and just say that with this one, the story takes more emphasis in order to naturally serve the comedy scenes when they gradually come with Lewis toning down his hyperactive shtick immensely making him a bit more sympathetic than before. Martin himself doesn't appear until maybe after 15 minutes and it takes a while before he teams with Lewis. But when the laughs come, they are truly earned by Lewis and occasionally Mayehoff whether together or separately. So on that note, That's My Boy is worth seeing. P.S. Not counting the My Friend Irma sequel, this movie marks the first time in M & L history that a leading lady from a previous one reappears with them in another one. And like her last stint in At War with the Army, Polly Bergen has another charming duet with Dean, this time on Ballin' the Jack. And it's nice to see a player from my favorite picture It's a Wonderful Life, Lillian Randolph, play another amusing servant character named May.