Three on a Couch (1966)

You won't be disappointed!

Fantastic!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Artist Christopher Pride has won a contest to paint a mural in Paris. He shows up to collect his award from the diplomats in an office, with the nervous energy one would expect from Jerry Lewis. Just one problem: he's about to get married to Elizabeth, a psychiatrist in a Los Angeles office building which must be about the size of the Empire State Building, judging from the number of psychiatrists in the building directory. If they get married, Elizabeth will have to accompany Christopher to Paris.Elizabeth can take time off from some of her patients, but three of them will be devastated if she has to leave them. Mary Lou has a Southern accent and likes insects. Anna sounds European and sells perfume in a department store, but she likes cowboys. Susan is an exercise nut (she can't just lie on the couch; she must always be working out). All three have problems with men and need to talk to Elizabeth constantly about them.Christopher's best friend Ben, an obstetrician, comes up with an interesting idea. What if Christopher goes out with each girl, portraying their ideal man? It might work. I know it'll work for the audience.Ringo Raintree shows up at Anna's workplace with a cigar in his mouth. The poor man struggles with that cigar but somehow always manages to keep it in his mouth while talking up a storm about being the greatest rancher west of Chicago. Let's just hope he never has to prove his ability in, say, a rodeo.Warren tries to keep up with Susan on the jogging trail. I wasn't aware people jogged in 1965, but Susan is kind of unusual.And one of the movie's funniest scenes, and certainly one of Lewis' most hilarious moments, comes when Heather persuades Mary Lou to visit her very shy zoologist brother Rutherford. Heather is actually Christopher in drag, but she uses the key to her brother's apartment, goes in and discovers him hiding out in the bedroom, terrified of meeting this woman. As they argue, Mary Lou listens from the living room, but Christopher is actually taking off his dress and female underwear (lots of it in those days--and grapefruits in his bra) to get dressed as Rutherford. Heather is quietly washing her hair when her extremely nerdy brother finally meets Mary Lou, and he's not nearly as shy as she expected. He's about as goofy as Julius Kelp, though.So will the plan work? Well, there are many funny moments. One of the best that I haven't mentioned is Warren's attempt to hit a board in Susan's karate class. But there's much more that you can probably guess will happen.There was one scene that didn't make a lot of sense to me. After all ... well, I won't give that away. Let's just say there's a lot of excitement at the end. Particularly funny are the elevators.I was surprised at first, because this didn't seem to be the wacky, zany comedy typical of Jerry Lewis. I've only seen a handful of his films only because I waited for them to show up on broadcast TV, which this one did. But it took time to set up the situation, and I worried this would actually be a comedy-drama. No, once the scheme began, it was everything one would expect from Jerry Lewis. Maybe not his best work, but he certainly shows his talent here.James Best even sounded a little like Sheriff Rosco at times. Those noises he made when Ben was nervous must have originated with Best and not Rosco.Kathleen Freeman was very good as Elizabeth's secretary. The poor woman, but she handles herself very professionally. The other actresses did a pretty good job too. And there's a drunk who is entertaining.I enjoyed the music a lot. Jerry Lewis must enjoy big band jazz as much as I do. And there's quiet jazz in restaurants as well as straight elevator music. No, not in the elevator. The elevator scenes are too wacky for that.A great job.

Sense-memory time: Close your eyes and inhale through your nose, remembering the scent of mothballs. Old clothes someone thought they wanted to keep for another day... a memory with which you have no attachment... a garment that hasn't aged well. Welcome to "Three On A Couch."Jerry Lewis' psychiatrist girlfriend (Janet Leigh) won't accompany him on his sabbatical to Paris because she's so humorless and self important she refuses to abandon her practice until she "cures" her three female patients with man troubles. The nutty director (and star) decides if HE can cure these three girls behind Leigh's back by assuming multiple comic personalities then she'll surely join him for crepes in the City of Light... maybe Jerry feels that only the French will truly appreciate him ;)It's a decent setup... but the problem is the movie doesn't feel like a farce. It's heavy, moldy, and slow where comedy is usually light, crisp, and fast-paced. Leigh is stuck with dreadful dialogue proclaiming her sacred obligation as a doctor, while her MD friend sympathizes, explaining "I am a doctor too." I don't know if I've ever heard a real doctor insist they were a real doctor. Lewis achieves moments of insanity masquerading as a Southern belle AND her nebbishy geek of a brother- the scene in which he changes out of a dress and into man's clothing while loudly projecting "both" sides of the conversation is classic. Sadly, this is the movie's only highlight.An outlandish script like this should never be directed in this leaden, self-important style... its a shame but not a surprise because Lewis at this point had become a leaden, self-important man. His brilliance in early comedies like "The Errand Boy" and "The Bellboy" was eclipsed by his ego and desire to direct himself... it was more important to look cool than be funny. It's the death of the comedian, and unless you're into autopsies you won't want to linger here. Better to air out the attic, and forget the smell of mothballs.GRADE: C+

This is the first and only movie I've seen from Jerry Lewis. He is from before my time and I didn't have great expectations of his comedic abilities. But it was better than I expected. There were moments I really had to laugh and that doesn't happen all to often. Even if not all the scenes are even funny and sometimes irritating long (the farewell party at the office), I must say that Jerry Lewis can be a very funny man.

Inane, but not as much so as you expect from Lewis. Jerry even plays a reasonably intelligent and talented character in this one. Absolutely hilarious in many spots, even when gags are being milked. You miss stuff you can't see through the tears! A wonderful movie -- perhaps Jerry's very best!