Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis
Metascore
67

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11

Critic Reviews

  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Jessica Shaw
    Dec 16, 2011
    83
    You'll be intrigued by the 85-year-old showman, his legion of devotees, and the fact that he still tells rabbi-and-priest jokes.
  2. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Diane Werts
    Dec 16, 2011
    83
    Method makes a solid case for Lewis as underappreciated auteur.
  3. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Dec 16, 2011
    80
    A revealing and entertaining career retrospective.
  5. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    Dec 16, 2011
    80
    Method to the Madness leaves no doubt, in any case, about the appreciation he has inspired in others over the years, and not just the French.
  6. Uncle Barky
    Reviewed by: Ed Bark
    Dec 16, 2011
    75
    Method to the Madness is adroitly packaged and probably not all that less less flattering than a PBS American Masters portrait might have been.
  7. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    Dec 16, 2011
    75
    It's great to have such important talking heads, but after a while, they don't really contribute much new to the discussion.
  8. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Nancy DeWolf Smith
    Dec 16, 2011
    70
    Jerry Lewis is not only a "genius," a word that crops up so often that only in show business would such an outpouring not be mistaken for parody.
  9. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Neil Genzlinger
    Dec 16, 2011
    50
    By the end of this documentary, yes, you're convinced that Mr. Lewis was a much larger figure than is generally acknowledged. But you still don't feel as if you know him.
  10. Slate
    Reviewed by: Troy Patterson
    Dec 16, 2011
    50
    A middling documentary about a major actor-director-buffoon.
  11. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Dec 16, 2011
    50
    Barson has made a doc too narrow in scope, with about as much substance as a meringue pie in the face.
  12. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hank Stuever
    Dec 16, 2011
    40
    The old clips are still a hoot, but there's a limit to how much compressed air a viewer can take, listening to a bunch of old men talk about how funny their friend was.