Which Way to the Front?

Much-maligned Lewis almost plays like a precursor to Brooks, or even Happy Madison, with its blatant racial stereotyping, scattershot plot and inspired moments of chaotic comic randomness. Mocking the absurdity of war, there is a subtlety (yes, you read that right) to his staging and visual execution at times that is really surprising, and the laughs are hard to pin down. To paraphrase Godard, Lewis is funnier when he isn't being funny, and the coda is outrageously stupid, borderline brilliant.

My first Jerry Lewis film, and--it was not a good first impression. Lewis' performance, as a tycoon who rejects his 4-F draft status and infiltrates the Nazi hierarchy with a team of other 4-Fs, has two modes: narcotized and manic. And when manic Lewis puts on a German accent, it's earsplitting. Luckily, he does that for a large portion of the film. His direction is totally lifeless, the production is cheap, the film is interminable, and it ends with the crudest Asian stereotypes I've ever seen.