Dean and Jerry are more relaxed in this film than in previous efforts. The comedy is also milder. It is also the first time Jerry indulges in his sentimental clown shtick. Hello, telethon Jerry! Dean has absolutely nothing to do in the film. He plays his usual heel character, but there is absolutely no depth to it. And where are the musical numbers? Only the woefully unfunny "That's My Boy" has less in the way of music! Dean and Jerry get to do one new number, "Puncinello", and Dean sings the standard "It's a Big, Wide Wonderful World" to a bunch of animals! (Hugh Shannon, the wonderful jazz singer-pianist who is most identified with this song, must have had a good laugh from Dean's version.) Dean has no ballads and hardly any screen time with his leading lady, Joanne Dru. It's all about Jerry, not silly, lovable Jerry, but a telethon Jerry, trying to become a clown. Actually, the film is quite amusing and heartwarming, but it's not Martin and Lewis. I do not know if Twenty-first Century youngsters would find this amusing, but I did when I was a kid. It is more endearing than "That's My Boy" and most of the solo Lewis films. It may be a bit slow for today's kids.
Review of 3 Ring Circus
