Review for The Nutty Professor: The Special Edition (1963)

Introduction

I hate remakes. That isn't exactly true, having seen both iterations of Ocean's Eleven, perhaps it's more accurate to say that I hate Eddie Murphy's remake of The Nutty Professor, not to mention its even direr sequel. Of course Eddie Murphy's current incarnation of broad comedy movie star is a comparative descent into the pit of hell, following his initial splash in action comedy movies like Beverly Hills Cop. His current movies are crass, insulting, offensive, and play to the lowest common denominator. Think of his Nutty Professor, and you find yourself thinking of 'that' scene around the family table, where the self indulgent Murphy plays every member of his family except one, breaking wind in perfect disharmony. The worst thing is that with television stations opting for the more recent movies instead of older fare, this modern travesty of a film is the one that most people will think of when The Nutty Professor is mentioned. The Jerry Lewis original is gradually fading into the mists of time, supplanted by the obnoxious younger sibling, and in my mind that is just plain wrong. Fortunately, God gave DVD to us, and I at least will have the better movie in my mind when I think of The Nutty Professor.


Julius Kelp is a professor of chemistry at Arizona State University, whose predilection for detonating his class surprisingly doesn't get him fired. Perhaps the fact that he's mild-mannered, soft spoken, clumsy, and more than a little nerdish offers him a little sympathy, although not from his students, some of whom see him as a target for ridicule. Not Stella Purdy though, who is kind enough to help him out of a closet on one occasion, and sees something of promise in the accident prone professor. Then Julius is turned onto the idea of bodybuilding as an aid to self-improvement, a little muscle to intimidate those college jocks with. When traditional means don't work, he turns to his area of expertise, chemistry, concocting a formula that should enhance his physique; only he comes up with something way beyond his wildest dreams. In the tradition of all good mad scientists, he plans to test it on himself. That day, Stella invites him to notorious student hangout, The Purple Pit, but it isn't nebbish Julius Kelp who shows up, it's heartthrob Buddy Love.

Picture

For a film that is getting inexorably close to its half century, The Nutty Professor is in surprisingly good nick. The image is clear, sharp, and the strong colour palette comes across brilliantly. The film is also light on print damage, grain and signs of age, and about all that I can point at as a flaw is a slight film flicker. It still looks better than films half its age.

Sound

You have a choice between Dolby Digital 5.1 English, a restored DD 2.0 mono English track, and a mono German track as well. There are so many subtitle languages that just contemplating typing them out tires me. I opted for the surround track, and found it pleasant enough. The dialogue was clear, crooner Buddy Love came through with his full languid insouciance, and all in all the sound has stood up as well as the image. I gave the mono track a try, and in my opinion the dialogue was a smidge crisper, and it certainly reflects the original movie experience. The surround track did have a fullness and ambience to it that was more enveloping, but obviously you're not going to get discrete audio placement and a hyperactive soundstage.

Extras

Surprisingly for a film made back in 1963, The Nutty Professor comes loaded with extra features, although a lot of that comes from Writer, Director and Star Jerry Lewis owning the rights to the film, and being a packrat about stuff like outtakes and deleted scenes.

It also doesn't hurt that with Steve Lawrence, Jerry Lewis provides an audio commentary for the film. Audio commentaries are standard nowadays with modern films, but to see a classic film like this with an audio commentary, and from its star no less is worthy of note. Admittedly the track is gappy, Lewis and Lawrence spend more time watching the film than talking about it, but when they do, every word is a gem, and I wound up watching the film twice the way through on the same night. Time provides a distance to allow for a little critical appraisal, and the need not to promote the film also means that the comments are more interesting as a result. The last time I enjoyed a commentary so much was James Stewart on the Winchester 73 disc. The commentary also comes with English and German subtitles.


Two featurettes on this disc, beginning with The Nutty Professor: Perfecting The Formula. This features interviews with Jerry Lewis, Stella Stevens, and with input from film writers and historians (including Lewis' son Chris). At 16 minutes it's a brief, but interesting retrospective on the film, with some behind the scenes footage and storyboards.

Jerry Lewis At Work lasts 30 minutes, and is a bit more of an overall view of his work with Paramount, following his split with partner Dean Martin, and has a look at six of those early films, including classics like Cinderfella, The Bellboy and The Delicate Delinquent. Interesting to note is that The Delicate Delinquent was initially supposed to be a Martin and Lewis vehicle, but wound up with Darren McGavin taking the Martin role. It explains the rawer and more honest performance that I noted from Lewis when I first saw the film.

The Archival Material is full of goodies, 5 deleted scenes (7½ minutes), 6 promos for the film (4½ minutes), 14 bloopers (13½ minutes), a clip from 1973 of Jerry at the Movieland Wax Museum dedicating the Nutty Professor exhibit (45 seconds), Test Footage with a couple of screen tests (2½ minutes), and Other Footage, 3 minutes of an adlib that got out of hand.

Finally there is a 2-minute theatrical trailer for the film.

Conclusion

Now that is more like it. It's time to wheel out the old 'They don't make 'em like they used to cliché' and praise a comedy that never once resorts to fart jokes, bodily fluids, toilet humour, is never nasty, hurtful, mean-spirited or offensive. The Nutty Professor is a joy from beginning to end, and one of Jerry Lewis' finest moments on screen. It also has an ever-pertinent message on the perils of addiction, albeit firmly hidden behind two of the finest comic character creations in comedy cinema, Julius Kelp and Buddy Love.


Given some of the other Jerry Lewis films I have seen, he is comparatively restrained here, keeping the zany gurning and exaggerated reactions toned down, especially when you consider the leeway he could have had, writing, directing, and starring in the film. But as he mentions in the extras, The Nutty Professor was a labour of love, his vision of the classic Jekyll and Hyde tale, with funny and unfunny, instead of man and monster. Julius Kelp is the funny, the buck-toothed, accident-prone, absent-minded chemistry professor with the silly voice. Yet Lewis also brings out his sensitive and thoughtful qualities, and there is never any indication that he lacks for intelligence. It's easy to accept that Stella would be interested in him, despite his obvious shortcomings.


Buddy Love on the other hand is a jerk. He may be suave, stylish, talented, and charismatic, but he is also egotistical, self-centred, narcissistic and boorish. Jerry Lewis plays it mostly straight here, leaving the comedy for when the personalities are on the verge of switching, and there is a brutish menace to Buddy Love that comes across clearly. Again in the extras, he states surprise that it was Buddy Love that got all the fan mail when the movie was released, although a cynic like me might put it down to human nature. Also put to rest in the extras is the rumour that Buddy Love was based on Dean Martin, following the acrimonious ending of their partnership. Of course chronologically, there were seven years between the end of that partnership and the release of The Nutty Professor, and that's a long time to nurse a grudge. And as Jerry Lewis states, there are plenty of jerks in the world that provided inspiration.


By far the most impressive aspect of The Nutty Professor for me is the Stella Purdy character. Remember this was back in 1963, when gender equality wasn't exactly prevalent in cinema, but Stella is a confident, intelligent, witty and sharp character, one who is strong and supportive to Julius, but holds her own against Buddy when all other females are expected to swoon in his presence. It's a strong and prominent role, one that really makes this movie a two-hander, not just a Jerry Lewis picture. In fact, I always have a little fun trying to figure out just when she twigs that Buddy and Julius are one and the same.


Best of all, The Nutty Professor is great, all round comedy. It's got it all, wit, satire, slapstick, and just plain funny gags. I'm always in awe of the scene that really introduces Julius Kelp as a character, when he has to report to Dean Warfield to answer for his most recent explosion. It's pure silence, great props, exquisite timing, and the knowledge of just how long to hold a pause. Jerry Lewis has had a chequered movie career, and he's perhaps unfairly forgotten when we in the West think of great screen comedians. I must admit that movies like Which Way To The Front don't help. But The Nutty Professor is sublime screen comedy, it's transcendental, and it's timeless. Buy this disc. Then take that Eddie Murphy travesty, and burn it. You'll feel better for it, I promise you.