Let me tell ya, it doesn't matter what part of Smorgasbord, I start watching again, I'm guaranteed laughs. That's what great about this movie, you don't know where Jerry will take it next. This is slapstick at it's zaniest. If you loved Hardly Working you're gonna split your sides here. Like our hapless bumbling idiot Bo, in Hardly Working, Lewis plays another klutz, Warren Nefflon, a necrophiliac, a walking hazard, a guy who constantly fears the negative. He can't even get across the overly shiny floor of his psychiatrist's office, as he manages to slip over, but can't manage to get himself back up, without going over again, and again, and again. Or is this just Warren's negative thinking, a moral attached, "If you think negative you'll be negative". The cliché there in the who side splitting movie. Jerry's doctor, (Milton Berle, perfect) is at a loss, he evidently shows, face to camera, rolling his eyes, shaking his head. Warren has tried to kill himself a couple of times, the first one trying to hang him himself from a ceiling fan, you gotta see, another before he's about to drive off a cliff, he mouths to the camera, "Goodbye", only the car then stalls on the mountain top, so he exits to get some petrol, only he didn't leave the handbrake. Another failed costly suicide. We too Jerry playing many characters, all idiots, the bank stickup that becomes a dance routine, I loved as much as I love my Mexican. And also we have a loud annoying voice of a waitress, who likes to be methodical when describing the menu, or any other things, which she does through other characters, who unfortunately have the same loud nagging voice, someone to answer to, for causing tinetus of the ears I imagine. May'be she has a personality disorder, but with the same obsessive compulsiveness, that makes her such a hoot. You'll be choking with laughs in the restaurant scene. But before I go, I just have to mention, Jolly Fat Wee Hawkins airlines. At the advice of his shrink, Jerry travels this incredibly cheap flight, that doesn't have second or first class, or any class for that matter. You know you're in for a bad flight when a wheel pops off while airborne, and they're showing smutty movies with a pack of cards. Jerry had to evacuate the plane, ending up in the snow, with a bearded fellar quite like himself, who too took that dreaded flight. After Warren yells a word that buries him half deep in an avalanche, he ends up in hospital where he's been recorded as the coldest patient they've had. You realize that, when you hear the sound of ice, dropping into Jerry's bedpan. An insanely hypnotic comedy, manned by a guy who knows funny. For Lewis fans, there's no excuse not to watch this. I repeat, no excuses.

After the release of Hardly Working which opened number one it's first weekend,I don't think Cracking Up even got a U.S. release.When Jerry teams with Bill Richmond on the writing usually good comedy follows: Nutty Professor,The Patsy,The Errand Boy.Well Lewis/Richmond wrote this movie and came up with a gem.The scene of him entering the doctors office is just a side splitter, Jerry laying carpet with the Walkman headphones on had my son laughing for days.All the scenes had a very good flow to them and Jerry seemed very invigorated and up for this outing.Compared to the outings of the late 60's this is a very interested Jerry and it shows.This movie is an overlooked classic.

The best way I can describe "Cracking Up" is it is a medium effort by Lewis, not his worst but not his best either. This Lewis film is worlds above "The Big Mouth" for example. The best and funniest sequences are the ones in which Foster Brooks and Zane Busby appear in. In fact, Zane Busby's scenes are among the funniest (and most annoying) in the entire picture. The annoying part of them is what makes them so darn funny. I wish Foster Brooks had more screen time than he does here but what he does with what he has to work with is very very funny. Lewis's main problem in this film is that he milks a gag on far longer than it is funny. This was not so much the case in many of Lewis's earlier films especially ones not written or directed by lewis himself. Lewis can be very very funny as his earlier pictures (after Martin) indicate and Lewis has a wild and fertile comic imagination that has served him pretty well. But as usual when Lewis writes and directs for Lewis, Lewis the editor does not know when to say "Cut!" and often scenes drag on far too long than they need be. I consider Jerry Lewis a true comic genius, much better than Chaplin, but not quite as good as Buster Keaton whose comedies in my opinion are very very underrated.

The low rating of the movie may be misleading, the demographic show that this is a love it or hate it movie. 10 got the most votes, but lots of other votes from 1 to 9. The average is actually 6, only the weighted average pulls it down to 4. If you like slapstick comedies, I can only suggest you run see this movie. I'd rate it as one of the most funniest I've ever seen. The movie certainly lacks any sort of plot and is very chaotic. Its more a collection of Jerry Lewis thrown from one funny scene, into the other. To give an example: In one scene he tries to commit suicide by driving off a hill out in the middle of nowhere. The car gets stuck right at the edge and won't budge. So Jerry gets out, opens the trunk, and pours petrol all over him. Then he frantically looks for matches, only to realise he doesn't have any. If you can picture Jerry's face and body language throughout the whole seen and find that funny, you should really see this movie. I won't describe anymore scenes, as with every slapstick comedy, once you know the gag it's not as funny anymore. However, if you need a good plot and can't laugh out loud at slapstick comedies, you should maybe pass on that one. Or get yourself a better sense of humour...