# "France" is to Jerry Lewis as "Russia" is to . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358 "2003-04-22T17:51:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/1 "2003-04-22T17:51:44Z")
Leonardo DiCaprio! LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Russian International Film Festival has awarded actor Leonardo DiCaprio its Tower Award for his contribution to world cinema. The “Gangs of New York” and “Catch Me If You Can” star said he was a fan of Sergei Eisenstein and introduced one of his favorites from the director, “Battleship Potemkin,” at the festival Sunday. “I respect Russian culture and Russian cinema, especially Eisenstein, (Andrei) Tarkovsky, and (Sergei) Paradzhanov,” the 28-year-old actor said. “I’m definitely going to catch some more movies at this festival.” —_Whaaa . . .?_ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/2 "2003-04-22T18:40:22Z")
What’s the connection? DiCaprio is a first-class actor; Lewis is a third-rate comedian. Don’t underrate DiCaprio simply because he’s a pretty boy. He has the chops (see **What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?** ). ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/3 "2003-04-22T18:45:27Z")
Leonardo DiCaprio is “pretty?” Couldn’t prove it by me. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/4 "2003-04-22T19:07:03Z")
Leo also flexes his acting chops in **The Basketball Diaries**. He’s a good actor, but I think full of himself. And cookies too judging by a pic I saw of him on the beach on [People.com](http://People.com) recently. Someone needs to lay off the PBR. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/5 "2003-04-22T19:15:55Z")
I just want to know how long he had to practice saying “Eisenstein, Tarkovsky, and Paradzhanov.” ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/6 "2003-04-22T19:37:46Z")
Heck, I’m impressed he knows who Paradzhanov is. I bet you can count the Dopers who’ve actually seen one of his films on your fingers (I’ll be the thumb…) Let’s be honest, though, selections like this are always tied to insuring that your Festival will make the front pages of the Moscow Sun Times (or whatever it’s called; is _Pravda_ still around?). Critical cred always comes second to high-end exposure. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/7 "2003-04-22T19:43:18Z")
A better analogy: France is to Jerry Lewis as [Albania is to Norman Wisdom](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1251406.stm). ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/8 "2003-04-22T20:39:26Z")
Leo knew and could pronounce those names? That is a surprise of titanic proportions! ---
**Author:** ![Payton\_s\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@Payton\_s\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payton_s_Servant)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/9 "2003-04-22T20:51:40Z")
All of you are wrong. The answer is clearly Yakoff Smirnov. ---
**Author:** ![Prisoner\_24601](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a6a055/32.png) [@Prisoner\_24601](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prisoner_24601)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/10 "2003-04-22T23:25:49Z")
Most of Europe is oddly in love with the band Dream Theater, who could not give cd’s away here… go figure. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/11 "2003-04-23T00:02:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Prisoner 24601 \* > \*\*Most of Europe is oddly in love with the band Dream Theater, who could not give cd’s away here… > go figure. \*\* Most of Europe? You’re going to need a cite for that one. I hope I don’t have to remind anyone that the French obsession with Jerry Lewis is a myth, but that wasn’t really the point of the OP was it? ---
**Author:** ![Prisoner\_24601](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a6a055/32.png) [@Prisoner\_24601](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prisoner_24601)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/12 "2003-04-23T00:06:30Z")
I just came from a 4 year tour of the Med. and every country I went to, from Croatia to Italy and Spain, had in every Discoteque a plethora of Dream Theater discs, including Russian imports of concert albums…weird. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/13 "2003-04-23T00:23:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > \*\*I hope I don’t have to remind anyone that the French obsession with Jerry Lewis is a myth, but that wasn’t really the point of the OP was it? \*\* A myth? Andrew Sarris discussed it way back in the 60s in “The American Cinema”; Gerald Mast mentioned it int “The Comic Mind,” including quotes from Bernard Davidson and J. P. Coursodin from French cinema magazines: > [@](#): > > Jerry Lewis exercises and strange and really disquieting fascination over the patrons of cinema’s darkened halls . Or try these quotes: > [@](#): > > The French film critic, Robert Benayoun, wrote: “I consider Jerry Lewis, since the death of Buster Keaton, to be the foremost comic artist of the time. He corresponds to his era both reflecting and criticising our civilization.” The French director, Jean-Luc Godard, said: “Jerry Lewis is the only American director who has made progressive films, he is much better than Chaplin and Keaton.” . . . “Jerry Lewis is more than a great artist, he is a great man,” stated L’Aurore. Lewis has also won eight best director awards in Europe. Even [Cecil](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a991001.html) has confirmed the phenomenon. True, Lewis’s reputation has fallen badly since the 60s. It looks like he is not held in the esteem he was 40 years ago. But it was not myth that French critics once considered Jerry to be a truly great filmmaker. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/14 "2003-04-23T00:37:17Z")
It _is_ a myth that the French are crazy about Jerry Lewis these days, yet that’s still taken for granted on these boards all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-is-to-jerry-lewis-as-russia-is-to/170358/15 "2003-04-23T00:47:27Z")
This all proves my theory: [Norm MacDonald] Germans love David Hasselhoff. [/Norm MacDonald]