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Hardly Working

Play trailer Poster for Hardly Working PG 1981 1h 31m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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9% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 24% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
An out-of-work clown (Jerry Lewis) spills drinks and knocks things over when he tries regular 9-to-5 jobs.

Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker 05/19/2014
The movie's desperately amiable tone plays like a chastised boy's terrified plea for love; the oblivious cruelty that emerges nonetheless (as in Lewis's embarrassing parody of a Japanese chef) makes it all the sadder. Go to Full Review
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 10/17/2007
0/4
I was absolutely stunned by the vast stupidity of this film. Go to Full Review
Janet Maslin New York Times 08/30/2004
The result is utter confusion. Go to Full Review
Leonard Klady Winnipeg Free Press 06/16/2022
The picture looks as if it had been made a decade ago and kept in cold storage. Despite some fine moments, it suffers from a lack of originality. Go to Full Review
David Sterritt Christian Science Monitor 05/20/2014
It's a bumpy movie, no more graceful than its buffoonish main character. Worse, the star tries to have it two ways, alternating between manic physical comedy and softspoken self-pity. The result if often awkward, and sometimes downright weird. Go to Full Review
People Staff People Magazine 05/20/2014
To adults this poky movie may seem a bit sad. Lewis' once-manic energy is barely suggested in a few labored outbursts, and his lovable bewilderment is now more like bitterness. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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CRAIG M 01/19/2024 Just bad - a comic without a straight man, everything fell flat See more 06/04/2022 Jerry Lewis first film after a ten year hiatus is called Hardly Working. It tells the story of an unemployed clown who goes from job to job creating awkward situations wherever he goes. Hardly Working was a moronic and pathetic film filled with obvious product placement, lazy editing, racist costume design, and painfully unfunny gags. To be honest, Jerry Lewis' unfinished and unreleased film The Day the Clown Cried could be a better film than Hardly Working because the film is hardly competent. See more 09/16/2017 I watched this film in 1981 in a packed house at the Mayfair theatre in Gutenberg , NJ. The audience laughed and laughed . Jerry is excellent . The story is fun. But like so many slapstick oriented films, there are numerous opportunities blown . The beautiful deanna Lund (Tony Rome , land of the Giants) never shows a kneecap. See more mike m @mlm5l 09/03/2017 I saw this movie on HBO in the 80's and never forgot it. How bad could it be if I still remember it. It had some funny moments. See more 03/10/2016 Later works of Jerry Lewis, not the best but not the worst. See more 08/04/2015 Again, if you like Lewis and slapstick then this one is worth a see. Otherwise, stay away. See more Read all reviews
Hardly Working

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis An out-of-work clown (Jerry Lewis) spills drinks and knocks things over when he tries regular 9-to-5 jobs.
Director
Jerry Lewis
Producer
James J. McNamara, Igo Kantor, Mickey Blowitz
Screenwriter
Michael Janover, Jerry Lewis
Production Co
20th Century Fox, Hardly Working
Rating
PG
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 31m