I must admit that I am not a huge fan of Jerry Lewis' comedies. I used to think they were all pretty bad but have recently come to appreciate many of them. However, I really think they are an uneven lot. Some are quite clever and well done--others suffer from one major problem--a lack of subtlety. Jokes are often taken to such extremes and Jerry's reactions are so intense that it loses me. As I said, however, this isn't always true---plus I love him in dramas (I think he actually is great in these). In the case of "The Disorderly Orderly", I tried but just couldn't enjoy the film. Too often, his overreactions just lost me and few of the skits came close to eliciting a chuckle...but nothing more. Additionally, the plot itself made little sense (such as, Why did Miss Blair even like him?!). Very weak. My advice is that if you like this very broad humor, by all means watch it. However, films like "The Bellboy", "The Delicate Delinquent" and "The Ladies Man" are much better and are well worth your time.
UPDATE: I saw this movie again a few days ago at the TCM Classic Movie Cruise. It was introduced by Lewis himself and the audience seemed to love it--with tons of laughs and snickers. Still, despite enjoying seeing Lewis interviewed, I was left feeling that the film was much like "The Bellboy" in that it was very episodic...but unlike "The Bellboy" its jokes fell flat almost every time. Perhaps I'd rate this one a 4 at second viewing...perhaps not. All I know is that I still didn't understand folks' love for this picture.
UPDATE: I saw this movie again a few days ago at the TCM Classic Movie Cruise. It was introduced by Lewis himself and the audience seemed to love it--with tons of laughs and snickers. Still, despite enjoying seeing Lewis interviewed, I was left feeling that the film was much like "The Bellboy" in that it was very episodic...but unlike "The Bellboy" its jokes fell flat almost every time. Perhaps I'd rate this one a 4 at second viewing...perhaps not. All I know is that I still didn't understand folks' love for this picture.