Which Way to the Front?

I clearly remember being bereft at the age of about 10 when I read that Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were splitting up. I think it was my first lesson in the world being cruel, I was truly shocked at that age as these were my comedy heroes. They'd had a string of hits finishing with Pardners and Hollywood or Bust and I just couldn't conceive of a world without Martin & Lewis. Jerry went on to make many comedies which got great acceptance as I remember in Europe, but not so much in the USA. He was regarded as a kind of modern day Chaplin and an acquired taste, mainly due to his obstinance in doing his own thing. This fortunately came to a head with the original Nutty Professor, a truly great comedy. I wish he'd left it there as Which Way To The Front, which I've just viewed is dreadful. An awful script, let down by amateur acting from the so called comedic actors supporting him, a ghastly performance by Jerry himself, screaming for most of it, and in this day and age, politically incorrect to the extreme. I smiled in two or three places and that was it. Best to avoid unless like me, you're a Jerry Lewis completist and just had to watch to the end. It seemed about as long as the second world war in which it was set.

I had watched this as a kid but, not being much of a Jerry Lewis fan, I had completely forgotten it (not that it's in any way memorable). The film revolves around impersonation (which seems to be in the curriculum of every comic star!) - in this case a German officer - and, while not as bad as Leonard Maltin claims (awarding it a BOMB rating), it's not exactly classic stuff either - certainly leagues behind Chaplin's THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940), even if comparably narcissistic! Ironically, the scenes prior to the appearance of the would-be wacky General offer more felicities than the rather forced humor at Nazi expense!

The film was really Lewis' last gasp during his heyday; in fact, this proved to be his last vehicle to be released for 10 years (it's painfully apparent here that his particular brand of foolishness wouldn't pass muster in the age of Mel Brooks and Woody Allen)!

Leonard Maltin is a Hall of Fame film critic but he's way off when it comes to Jerry Lewis' "Which Way to the Front?". Maltin gave it a BOMB. That's his worst rating. Lighten up Leonard. It's not that bad. It's not that good but it's not a bomb. It does have quite a few laughs. Jerry seems to be enjoying himself. He seems to be having fun with his supporting. The problem with "Which Way to the Front?" has to do with the script (which Jerry didn't write). So what happens is that the movie ends up having Jerry stretch things out. A lot of the stuff is funny but it ends up being too much of a good thing. The last twenty minutes or so has a few laughs but it's mostly Jerry screaming. I'm a fan of Jerry Lewis but I won't be watching this one anytime soon. Honorable mention: Jan Murray.

Warner Brothers botched the distribution of this movie.Lewis made a movie that was more adult and topical in light of the times.The movie was more plot driven then many of his other directorial efforts.Lewis makes great use of the art of verbal humor,the scene of Byers trying to learn German from a phonograph record.He fractures and mocks the instructor and the sound of the German language.The scene of Byers/Kesselring's meeting with Hitler is one of Lewis's great masterworks of verbal comedy.Byers in disguise at a German checkpoint double talks the guard,then Byers/Kesselring gets the guard to hand him the password and then gives him the password back.Byers great line at the beginning of the movie that "every man has a right to be killed fighting for his country" is pure gold in the light of Vietnam.The comedy gems in the second half of this movie are fast and furious.I think it is the most verbal driven and more adult in it's comic pacing than most lewis vehicles.I think Lewis was going in new directions.WB killed any such future which we can only guess at seeing it all but derailed his career.

The idea behind "Which Way to the Front" - a millionaire rejected for military service during World War II deciding to form his own army platoon and fight the war his way - is definitely one that is original and has a lot of potential for humor. Unfortunately, the execution here is lacking, to put it kindly. Watching it, I often got the feeling that star and director Jerry Lewis was not trying very hard. For example, while the movie is set in 1943, the movie has a very 1970s feel to it from the costumes to the sets.

A bigger problem is that the movie is simply not that funny, especially in the first half. The movie starts off very slowly, taking both forever to set the situation up and then to get Lewis and his team into the field. And while this is going on, one attempted gag after the other lands with a thud.

The second half of the movie is a bit more successful. There is an injection of serious energy by both Lewis the star and Lewis the director. And this energy does end up generating a few (mild) giggles. (But I certainly didn't laugh at the offensive last scene; you'll see for yourself when you watch the movie.) While there are worse comedies out there (both with or without Lewis), it's easy to see why Warner Brothers only gave the movie a limited release in North America. Though the movie did extremely well in a number of foreign countries, suggesting there's an audience for just about any movie.