They've been advertising it all week and so I was ready with my VHS tape! Now, all along, I have been waiting with baited breath, hoping this wasn't going to be another disappointment, such as the one I experienced when Jerry LEE Lewis was on Conan's show last week, but I should not have worried. This was a whole different man, the other half of the dynamic comic duo of Martin and Lewis. The man who works tirelessly all year long to put on a telethon every Labor day week-end, and no matter how ill he may be, or what the devil tries to throw at him to prevent his raising the money for his kids, Jerry Lewis has always come through. Well, this was not a comedic part,but after seeing his acting ability all these years, I just knew this was going to be something special. And Oh! How very special it was! Okay, I had a tiny tinge of concern for him, because let's face it. Jerry Lewis is no spring chicken. He has had a career that has spanned decades, and has done myriad movies,most of which depicted him as a bumbling, but well meaning sweet man who was laughed at, lampooned and picked on, always ending up with the short end of the stick, until at the very end he came out on top. And yes, it has been years since he did anything as big as this Law and Order thing,but he has always been a trooper, born in a trunk back stage, as they say,and fully capable of carrying off any part!
So when the show started, I was a little disturbed not to see him right away, thinking, surely they wouldn't have used this towering talent for a bit part, or some cameo walk-on! So,I was patient throughout the background part of the show,watching for his face, listening for his voice. They may change a lot of things about an actor, but the one thing you can usually count on for a man or woman who can sing, is the voice stays the same, unless they have to alter it for some reason...and Jerry Lewis has always had a wonderful singing voice. I should mention here that I have always watched any production of depth and ably written in two separate and distinct stages. First is the background of the piece, setting up the mood, topic,location and major players,heroes and villians, and basic plot,and motivation in the first part. The second part is where all the action and clues, twists and turns and personality changes are brought to the fore,and where all these things combined, brings us to the ultimate conflict, and then swiftly, the conclusion. Tonight, there were no lasting disappointments! When Jerry was first brought in, I had to look hard to make sure that's who it was. He was made up to be so horribly dirty, at first I wasn't sure...but then, no one is at their very best as a homeless person. So I waited some more, because I just knew he was going to get cleaned up at some point,and looking good, because, as far as I'm concerned, he just can't help it! Young or older, thin or fat, clean or dirty, Jerry Lewis is Fine! And so it was that he finally came out of the dirty stage, was dressed nice,and had come out of his hazy," I don't know who I am.." Stage, once one of the detectives recognized him as his uncle, and he had stopped taking his medication and gone off into bo-bo land. Now after " ten days" of treatment and good care, he was quite lucid and aware of what was really going on, but still subject to "manic" moments, if set off. Mr. Lewis' portrayal of this character was total perfection. He was completely believable from the onset, with bleary eyes and a shuffling walk, and a dimness that comes from being mentally disconnected,and with each new change he was once again, completely there!
I certainly hope NBC does an encore of this program, because nobody ought to miss seeing what Mr. Jerry Lewis is going to get an Emmy for!!
OUI?
Posted by: Kilter | October 12, 2006 at 01:15 PM
Posted by: Tim | October 12, 2006 at 05:02 PM