# Why do the French love Jerry Lewis? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 2, 2000, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-french-love-jerry-lewis/18371 "2000-05-02T17:21:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![trilobite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@trilobite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trilobite)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2000, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-french-love-jerry-lewis/18371/1 "2000-05-02T17:21:08Z")
La raison qu’on aime Jerry? C’est le doublage!!! “[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/991001.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/991001.html)” It’s the dubbing! Dubbing in France is often taken very seriously, giving far better results than what anglophones get from their typical Honk Kong Chop Chop Suey flick.In the case of Jerry Lewis movies, the dubbing improves them considerably. The french actor who does Jerry’s voice has a good sense of timing, and his voice is actually comical, as opposed to the shrilly whining which the American Jerry over-indulges in. Jerry’s physical comedy is inventive enough, --it’s his vocalizations that kill a lot of his humour. Better yet, check out the Laurel and Hardy movies in French. Here, they speak with atrocious American accents, while everyone else speaks ‘normally’ (but all in French, of course). The effect is that these two bumbling dudes wind up epitomizing the silly Americans. Racist, but funny. Le cinéphile averti, François (A.K.A. Trilobite) ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2000, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-french-love-jerry-lewis/18371/2 "2000-05-02T17:47:04Z")
If you start a new thread, please always add the link to the column you are discussing: [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/991001.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/991001.html) Thanks. Jill ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2000, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-french-love-jerry-lewis/18371/3 "2000-05-03T14:37:22Z")
Well, he DID try. But I have to disagree, it’s nothing to do with dubbing–the French are just crazy themselves. Like speaks to like, you know? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2000, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-french-love-jerry-lewis/18371/4 "2000-05-03T20:07:48Z")
See also the threads [Jerry Lewis](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=1879) [Jerry Lewis and the French](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=449) [Jerry Lewis](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=272) The topic of the dubber was brought up before. ---
**Author:** ![trilobite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@trilobite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trilobite)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2000, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-french-love-jerry-lewis/18371/5 "2000-05-03T23:21:05Z")
Ok, I promise I’ll get the URL straight next time. I’m a newbie at this site, so, yes, missteaks will bee maid. Off with my head! Oh yeah, I also guess I should a better search on old threads before recycling old news. As for my appreciation for Jerry, well what can I say? I’d rate, (on a scale of -2 to 16), most of his movies to be mediocre-to-average (the Nutty Professor being the exception, coz of the anti-Dean material). With the dubbing factor, they become OK. But great? Nawww.