When I turned 16 or so and began to develop a mature sense of aesthetics, the films of Jerry Lewis became anathema to me. Suddenly I couldn't stand him, and that culturally elitist attitude has persisted to the present day. Yet when asked which of the films I've ever seen are the funniest, I have to mention this one. I don't remember much about it -- I saw it in a drive-in on a misty night in 1963 when I was 12 -- but I still recall the scene in the appliance department of the store, with the vacuum cleaner sucking up everything in sight. I don't think I have laughed that hard since -- it's amazing I survived to see the age of 13!

This is one of my favorite Jerry Lewis films. The plot isn't intricate and there are no musical numbers; just sheer lunacy and a great cast.This time out, Jerry is a young man in love; with an heiress. The only thing is, he doesn't know she's an heiress. Jill St. John is the love interest and undercover heiress. She is secretly working in her mother's department store, where her father is the figurehead president. Got all of that? Oh, I almost forgot. The mother, played by Agnes Moorehead (Citizen Kane and Bewitched), knows about her daughter's romance and wants it squashed. She sets a plan in motion to disrupt the couple, a plan involving Jerry's hiring at her department store.The film is filled with little episodes of slapstick and sightgags galore. As Jerry moves from department to department, chaos ensues. It's a wonder that the store is still standing by the end! What really makes the film work are the wonderful character actors who populate the screen. John McGivers plays the hapless father, Ray Walston is the scheming manager. There are cameos by such TV favorites as Richard Deacon (Leave it to Beaver & The Dick Van Dyke Show) and Nancy Kulp (The Beverly Hillbillies).Although it's not the greatest comedy ever made, it is a lot of fun. It's basically a live-action cartoon; not surprising, as the director is former Warner Brothers cartoon director, Frank Tashlin. Tashlin knows how to pace a film like this, building gag after gag, until the final eruption of laughter.This is definitely one of Jerry's more entertaining films, perfect for a quiet afternoon or evening.

Everyone talks about Jerry Lewis films such as "The Nutty Professor","The Geisha Boy",and others.But no one hardly talks about "Who's Minding The Store?"which IMHO,is his most underrated movie ever!Jerry is so funny in this film,you would have thought the Three Stooges should have been in it! The other reason I love this film:Francesca Bellini,who plays Shirley the pretty secretary who wears the very tight skirts.Agnes Moorehead & Ray Walston are great in their respective roles as well,but the climax of the movie will have you rolling with laughter!

I saw this movie at a Sunday matinee in 1963. The movie was so funny that the mere memory of that movie was enough to get me laughing. And I got sent to the principal's office as a result. So you can say that Jerry Lewis got me in trouble in school!Jerry Lewis is an incompetant errand boy who is engaged to the store owner's daughter. But to get him out of the daughter's life, the store owner turns the screws on the engagement by assigning him the worst jobs. The store owner then moves him from one department to another, leaving massive chaos and destruction everywhere he goes.The results are hilarious enough. But the aftermath of his time in the appliance department, alone, is worth watching the movie alone. It left me laughing so hard that I had stomach cramps!I saw the movie again many years later and it was second childhood all over again.