The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor
NR | 04 June 1963 (USA)
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A timid, nearsighted chemistry teacher discovers a magical potion that can transform him into a suave and handsome Romeo. The Jekyll and Hyde game works well enough until the concoction starts to wear off at the most embarrassing times.

Reviews
Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Michael_Elliott The Nutty Professor (1963) *** (out of 4) Professor Kelp (Jerry Lewis) is a giant nerd of a man who is quite weak, gets picked on by even his students and overall he's just nothing to write home about. He decides that enough is enough to he creates a potion and tries it on himself. This turns the nerdy Kelp into the irresistible and cool Buddy Love (Lewis) but pretty soon Kelp learns there's more to a personality than just looks.THE NUTTY PROFESSOR is perhaps the best known and most loved of all of Jerry Lewis comedies that he made after his break-up with Dean Martin. The film has remained a popular film over the decades and it even go ta much loved remake, which I personally think is a mini masterpiece. I first watched this movie a few days after seeing the remake and I thought that this was rather weak in comparison. With that said, after going back and giving the film a second viewing it's easy to see why so many people love it. This version of THE NUTTY PROFESSOR deserves the strong reputation that it has built up over the years.There's no question that the majority of the credit must go to Lewis. Not only did he create two great characters but his strength as an actor pulled both parts off. We all knew he could play someone like Kelp as he had been playing nerds throughout his career but he really brought some warmth and heart to this character unlike any better. Even the Love character is perfectly played by the actor who proved he could play it "straight" and mean. I'm not sure if this character was a wink towards Martin but it was fun. Stella Stevens is also quite easy on the eyes and makes for a good love interest. Richard Kiel makes a quick appearance here and is also memorable.There are many great laughs throughout the entire film and it's really a wonder more people hadn't tries to play the whole Jekyll and Hyde thing. Lewis was apparently very fond of the story as well as the various film versions and it's easy to see why. Lewis manages to take the two roles and turn them into something really special and there's no question that he gets a great number of laughs during the early portion of the film. I do think the film runs out of gas towards the end and the music numbers at the end do stop the film in its tracks. Still, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR has become a classic and it's easy to see why.
lasttimeisaw American comedian Jerry Lewis' fourth director-cum-co-writer-cum-star vehicle in his solo career, a loopy parody of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where he playfully juggles with the dichotomy between the geeky, bucktoothed, accidental-prone professor Julius Kelp and the raffish, chain-smoking, hipster crooner Buddy Love. What prompts Professor Kelp (Lewis) to undergo a thorough transmogrification is his swooning over his student Stella Purdy (Stevens), who is far out of his league, although no one in his class is even remotely credible to pass for a college freshman, or maybe the 60s simply was not a kind era for adolescents. Thanks to an inexplicable magic potion he manages to confect, with a faint reference to the turning of a hirsute werewolf, Kelp's new-born alter ego, Buddy Love fabulously materializes (introduced by a laboriously arranged reaction long-shot from on-lookers to elicit the anticipation), he is the antithesis of Kelp, and whose rebarbative behaviour has also implausibly escaped from the latter's clutches. But then the grating part emerges, albeit his condescending, offensive and self-serving attitude, this chimney-mouthed slicker is portrayed as a virtuoso show- stopper, and perversely sweeps Stella off her feet (although she does have some reservations but condones to fall for his bad-boy mojo). This male-patronising, female-stereotyping angle, becomes the undoing of a well-intentioned comedy, as in the final speech Buddy/Kelp delivers, we must brave ourselves to embrace who we are, we can always learn to be a better me, but leave the ideal me in that imaginative realm only. The film would be treated with a redux remake starring a multiple-role-playing Eddie Murphy in 1996 with great popularity owing to its staggering make-up magic and special visual effects. It also foreshadow the personality-sea-changing in Jim Carrey's breakthrough stunner THE MASK (1994). Since this broad comedy relies heavily on its star's slapstick, Lewis unstintingly turns it into his own shtick-boasting vehicle, and as obnoxious as Buddy Love is, one has to admit Lewis' protean performance is something to be reckoned with, sometimes he is also evocative of a young Jack Lemmon. Therefore, it barely leaves anything for other players, only Del Moore's prim but showbiz- passionate university president Dr. Warfield can swipe some thunder from Lewis' omnipresence, whereas, Stella Stevens' buxom ingénue is too amicable and souless for her own good, as a corollary of being projected from a parochial and patriarch world-view. In hindsight, the film is a mug's game hindered by its own myopia but survives only for Lewis' comedic knack, when he stays in his nebbish character.
Irishchatter Why the hell did Hollywood have to reboot this gem?! Honestly I think this is just far better then Eddie Murphy's 'Nutty Professor' version. Jerry Lewis was so amazing at his role especially his characters fake name 'Buddy Love'. If you are a girl or gay, he would melt your heart at his singing and his handsome looks. I just felt fuzzy and just felt a good vibe while watching him. He was just adorable haha!Stella Stevens who plays his love interest was absolutely beautiful, she definitely should've been considered a sex symbol during the 60's. She is literally stunning if you ask me! I definitely would consider this the best Jerry Lewis film I've ever seen!
bkoganbing In The Nutty Professor Jerry Lewis created one of his most endearing characters and the only one that another comic also adopted. Eddie Murphy who changed the last name from Kelp to Klump did not do an imitation of Lewis. He created his own milquetoast professor who starts experimenting with life altering potions. In fact Murphy created a whole family of characters for his two films. Jerry did not have the computer graphics available to Murphy, but his Julius Kelp who morphs into Buddy Love does quite all right with just Paramount's makeup wizardry and his own talent. When you think about it Jerry has joined some pretty distinguished company with John Barrymore, Fredric March, Spencer Tracy, and Boris Karloff all who played Dr. Jekyll on the big screen.Those guys weren't playing it for laughs though, Lewis did see the possibilities of humor in this deadly serious story. He also mined a lot of pathos from both Julius Kelp and Buddy Love.It's a simple story, Jerry is the world's ultimate nerd in Professor Julius Kelp who gets bullied by all. After a bad session with the college football players he decides that Dupont had the right idea, better living through chemistry. He does his Jekyll thing and from the ultimate nerd, Lewis becomes a candidate for lounge lizard of the century, a man auditioning for admittance to Sinatra's rat pack.One thing I have to say, that college seem to be caught in time warp. In 1963 kids were no longer listening to Les Brown and his Band of Renown. Yet that is their musical entertainment for the spring prom. Personally I think it would have registered better if say The Beach Boys would have been the entertainment, far more contemporary for 1963. But that would not have allowed Jerry a little chance to spoof the Rat Pack and his old partner Dean Martin.Jerry's Professor Kelp is someone you really care about and that's the secret of The Nutty Professor's enduring popularity.