WHICH WAY TO THE FRONT? (1970) ** Jerry Lewis doing World War II is a promising premise. Plenty of people with silly suits and accents to make fun of, and impunity from the political correctness police. Jerry forms his own army, inexplicably clad in very silly blue uniforms that look like they're out of the "Thunderbirds" cartoon, and emblazoned with peace signs. The only problem is that he struggles to be funny: it's not that he tries too hard, he always does that and it's part of why the schtick usually works, and it's not that he doesn't appear suitably ridiculous, it's just that the magnitudes never kick meters anywhere near where he's kicked them in the past. Well, with the exception of the scene where a record is teaching him to speak German, that one's pretty classic. Directing, Lewis also gets good mileage out of repeated very 1960s feeling cuts. The rest of the cast get in several moments as well, but when the world is right no one should even be in the same frame as Mr. Lewis. Instead, you're left with the feeling of a put-on by a bunch of guys who are all fairly clever and silly, but it's of a level that works spontaneously on the street, rather than to be immortalized on celluloid.
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