Smorgasbord (The Movie)

1983
PG
1h 29m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Suicidal nerd seeks help from psychiatrist, runs into various nutty characters.Suicidal nerd seeks help from psychiatrist, runs into various nutty characters.Suicidal nerd seeks help from psychiatrist, runs into various nutty characters.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

Photos36

+ 33

User reviews27

5.71.1K

Featured reviews

8Pumpkin-22

One of Jerry's Most Overlooked Gems

This is a sloppy mess of a comedy, with barely a plot to speak of, yet it contains some of the funniest bits Mr. Lewis has ever committed to film. It's one helluva lot better than the previous movie, "Hardly Working" which got a big theatrical release. It is the "Test Market Audience Mentality" that kept this excellent movie from getting a big-screen release in the U.S. "Cracking Up" keeps moving--if one gag fails, don't worry because there will be another, funnier one right on top of it. This overlooked gem has no less a fan than Martin Scorsese, who particularly loved the waxy floor opening credits sequence.

3Mister-6

He sure is....

Jerry's finally lost it.

I knew he was going downhill with "Hardly Working", which left him just that. But with "Cracking Up", he finds himself stuck with a movie that is so loud, so shrill and so in-your-face that laughing at it is not an option. You just want to analyze it to death.

As an all-around crackpot, Jerry sees a psychiatrist (Edelman) to try and get to the bottom of why he is in such sad shape.

The vignettes, when not repetitive, are just plain dumb. See, one part has him trying to quit smoking, so he goes to seek help. Now, whenever he lights up, Dick Butkus pops out of nowhere and belts him one. He shows up out of the bushes, in a buffet line, as a statue, etc. Cute at the beginning, but after the eleventh or twelfth time, it gets kind of annoying.

There is a bit part for Sammy Davis Jr. but his best role is in an out-take at the end where Jerry hoists him up and announces, "I'd like to thank the NAACP for this award...."

So, you see, Jerry can be funny. He used to be funny and there are times when he still has funniness within his grasp. But not here.

Three stars from me. Eight stars if you're a rabid fan. Ten stars if you're reading this in France.

Fydo

You Should See This Movie

This movie was one of Jerry Lewis's best in my opinion. I really think he is a good actor, director, writer, etc. and this movie definitely showed it. Lewis played a troubled man seemed to be cursed with bad luck. He showed off his talent by playing multiple characters, expressing the goofs that have happened during the course of his life. Must see this movie, it was awesome!

haggi5115

One of the best ever!

I have seen many funny movies come and go, but I have yet to see a movie as funny as this one! My brother and I saw this movie on cable, back in 1983 when i was 13 years old, and we were literally on the floor "cracking up"!! It really lives up to its title!! Jerry Lewis was at his very best! Thumbs wayyyyy up!!

6john22900

not Lewis's best but not his worst either

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.

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The title was changed to "Cracking Up" so late that when the characters go to see this movie, the marquee of the theater still has the original title "Smorgasbord".

Goofs
The chair used in the opening hanging sequence disappears entirely and then suddenly reappears.

Quotes
Warren Nefron: I think I'll have the non-toxic lunch.
Waitress: Would you like to start it with juice, fruit or soup?
Warren Nefron: Hmm, I think juice will be fine!
Waitress: We have apple, grapefruit, pineapple, apricot, orange, lemon, lemon crush, banana, asparagus, avocado, nectarine, tangerine, cherry, or pitless watermelon.
Warren Nefron: Apple will be fine.
Waitress: Apple it is! And what kind of salad would you like with your meal? We have Caesar, watercress, lettuce and tomato, plain tomato, plain lettuce, bibb lettuce, hearts of lettuce, hearts of bibb lettuce, lettuce leaves.
Warren Nefron: Watercress is always the...
Waitress: Watercress it is! Good choice! You got it! And what do you have on it? We have vinegar, vinegar and oil, plain oil, thousand island, hundred island, wine island, three mile island, Russian, German, Swiss, Mayo, Roquefort, blue cheese, brown cheese, cheese, cheese and bacon, bacon bits, bacon chips.
Warren Nefron: Hmm, vinegar and oil...
Waitress: Vinegar and oil, good choice! You got it! And now for your main course? We have steak, chops, veal, lamb chops, veal chops, chops of beef, beef tournedos, tournedos of beef, roast beef, boiled beef, royal beef, baked beef, braised beef, ribs, livers, lungs, onions...
Warren Nefron: I think steak is the best...
Waitress: Steak, and how would you like that? Medium, medium rare, well, well-done, rare, very rare...
Waitress: [time has elapsed] ... coffee, decaf, cocoa...
Warren Nefron: Can I just have a check?
Waitress: Fine, will that be cash, Visa, MasterCard, Carte Blanche, American Express, Bank of America, Bank of Germany, Bank of Tokyo, Bank of England, Bank of Andorra, Bank of Uruguay, Bank of the Peloponesian Island...?