Funny Bones

I found this movie to be quite good. Not a comedy as you might expect but Chaplin's comedies were not alway comedies either. I liked it, especially for Lee Evans.

If you saw Mouse Hunt with Nathan Lane you might remember the brother. That was Lee Evans. He does a very unusual, very funny bit, in this movie. Worth the price of the film.

Oliver Platt is the son of a famous comedian, played by Jerry Lewis, who fails as he tries to follow in his father's footsteps. To get inspiration he returns to the town his family had left when he was almost too young to remember. Revelations abound. If you approach this movie as a father - son relationship film and not as a comedy you should enjoy it. If you do not enjoy the Lee Evan's bit then you do not have a sense of humor and you should get yourself one.

Just because a movie has Jerry Lewis and a title that includes "Funny" doesn't mean that it was supposed to be a comedy! The plot is a bit of a mix (about a stand-up legend and his failure of a son) and doesn't always work.

The main bit about the father and the son, and the secrets and desires around them, is all worth watching. But we get hit by these little loose strands about a mob boss and a stolen wax egg that never seem to fit in with the rest of the theme and are hence left to fizzle off half-baked.

Acting etc is all fine, but the script is doozy and the screenplay patchy, which may work for some (who like "different cinema") but it is not youe average comedy yarn. I'd give it a 3.5 if I could.

i'm a jerry lewis fan, so i was quite disepointed by this movie.
Having seen "king of comedy" recently, and some old jerry classics from the 60's. i was expecting and looking forward to alote of fun here! according to the cover, youre suposed to believe that jerry has one of the leading roles.. yeah right, more like a cameo. ok?
jerry has a short scene at the begining of the movie, then he doesnt show up untill near the end. (how 'bout that?) where he does a couple of quick shots. the movie's main stars are oliver platt and his psycho half brother, who beats a clown to death. very cruel and disturbing, yes. comedy? this isn't a comedy folks, its a drama with alote of cruel violence.
the movie starts off with a kid being slaughterd under a boat at sea. then you see oliver platt performing before an audience, being humiliated before a crowd sence they doesnt laugh at his jokes. jerry lewis is magnificent as his suporting father.
oliver platt though, the star of the movie, plays an ego who only cares about himself and acts like a.. well you know. and thats the guy who you gotta follow through the whole movie!
jerry lewis actally has only about 3 or 4 "real" scenes, the rest is just short cuts at him. sitting in an audience or something. so all in all, quite an annoying film with alote of disturbing scenes. love jerry though, catch him in some of his old classics, or "king of comedy" where he stars along with robert de niro, now thats an old masterpiece! one of my favorite movies. there are so many great movies in this amazon jungle, so take my advice and spend your money on something else.
the cover on this film is misleading, and when the cover is misleading.. well.. you know what that means.
but you can bet there are some good music in this movie!
blues legend john lee hooker boogies away on his hit "boogie chillen". so i suggest you buy the soundtrack and skip the movie.
i hope this review was helpful.