From Patrick Goldstein at the
LA Times:
When Jerry Lewis takes the stage on Oscar night to receive the coveted Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, I have a feeling that many people on hand will be having the same thought: In the spirit of his groundbreaking film "The Nutty Professor," will Lewis be the sweet-natured, eccentric Julius Kelp or the unbelievably obnoxious Buddy Love?
The Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips has already anticipated the academy's sense of dread, writing that Lewis should have won an Oscar ages ago--1964, to be exact, for "The Nutty Professor"(pictured) --and offers two scenarios for Feb. 22.
The best-possible-case scenario, according to Phillips: "The perpetually divisive screen icon takes a gracious pill and accepts the [award] with his own brand of charm, plus a couple of inoffensive jokes, steering clear of any references to 'broads' or homosexuals or his 'kids.' " The worst-case scenario: "Lewis forgoes the gracious pill. He seizes the moment. And he tells the academy how he really feels about never having been nominated for a regular Oscar."
As any veteran Lewis watcher knows, when he says what he really feels, all hell often breaks loose. In 1990, he wrote a first-person essay for Parade magazine characterizing people with muscular dystrophy as "being half a person."
In 2000, being honored by the US Comedy Arts Festival, he said he had no interest in female comics, saying it "sets me back a bit. As a viewer, I have trouble with it. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies in the world." In 2007, during his Labor Day telethon, he jokingly referred to one of his cameramen's sons as "the illiterate fag." He apologized, but last October, on Australian TV, he called cricket "a fag game."
Do all these incidents pale in comparison to Lewis' humanitarian work, or do they disqualify him for such a prestigious industry honor? I thought I'd offer up a Jerry Lewis Quiz to see how everyone feels. Which one of the following statements best describes your attitude toward Lewis receiving the Hersholt award?
A) Lewis is a world-class comic. His controversial statements are ticky-tack fouls, not inexcusable insults. They gave the Hersholt to Frank Sinatra and he makes Jerry look like a choirboy by comparison. Give him the damn award. It's long overdue and he deserves it.
B) What Jerry said was awful, even if at 82, with all his health issues, Jerry may not always remember what he said the next day. But everyone has a few skeletons in their closet. I'm holding my nose, but I say he's earned it.
C) As anyone who's ever tried to sit through one of those awful telethons can testify, Lewis has been a self-aggrandizing embarrassment for years. Now he's going to get to talk forever, accepting his Oscar. I'm betting the band has already prepared a special number to play when he refuses to stop droning on about all his wonderful work. ABC better have the show on tape delay--who knows what'll come out of his mouth?
D) Jerry Lewis gets an award? Are you kidding? For torturing us with his telethon every year? For the three minutes of good comedy in "The Disorderly Orderly"? What's wrong--wasn't Rob Schneider available?
From Patrick Goldstein at the LA Times:
