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The Nutty Professor (1963)

(1963, Rated NR, Comedy, Starring Howard Morris, Jerry Lewis, Stella Stevens)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 6, age appropriate for kids over 8; suggested age 8.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Jerry Lewis' Jekyll-Hyde spoof is dated but great.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 8 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    While Buddy Love is introduced as the most magnetic, macho, and "swingingest" man around, the script emphasizes he's a conceited jerk, too, more or less the villain of the piece. Ultimate message of Kelp learning self-acceptance and not trying to hide behind a facade. A pre-feminist view of female characters as either swooning love interests or nagging wives (though some perceptive comedy about how heroine Stella also puts on a whole different personality when she's with her pals than when she's in class).
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence & scariness:

    The volatile Buddy Love punches out some guys. Slapstick weight-room accidents. Prof. Kelp is manhandled by a football jock.

  • Sexy stuff:

    Fantasy sequence of attractive leading lady Stella Stevens in some skimpy and clingy outfits (even those are pretty demure).

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    Dated plugs for Vic Tanny's gymnasium and bandleader Les Brown will go over heads of modern audiences.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Heavy drinking (and vast knowledge of cocktail mixology) is a strong part of Buddy Love's "cool" persona, although he is shown becoming surly and abusive because of it. Transformed back into Kelp, the character suffers a memorable comic hangover. Quite a bit of cigarette and cigar smoking across the cast, also seen as an indicator of sophistication. Only Julius Kelp coughs on tobacco smoke (obviously meant to be a sign of weakness). Undertone of drug use/abuse in Kelp's transformations.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About The Nutty Professor (1963)

Parents need to know that despite being ranked highly in the Hollywood-comedy pantheon, this 1963 feature is not as fast-paced, f/x-bloated, or bathroom-humor risque as the later Nutty Professor remake movies starring Eddie Murphy in multiple roles. While younger kids will like the silliness, older kids and adults might better comprehend the humor here (and the mid-20th-century references to beatnik-jazz clubs, "swingers," and The Lost Weekend). Heavy drinking, cigarette smoking, and rude behavior are made to look glamorous, at least initially.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the way Jerry Lewis twisted The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for surprisingly profound character comedy -- for once the Mr. Hyde equivalent wasn't an apelike goon but a smooth, suave, "swinger" -- not a nice guy but superficially more appealing than Jekyll. Ask young viewers what they think of this movie compared to the later Eddie Murphy remake and its sequel. Do most women really go crazy for the bad-boy "Buddy Love" poseurs of the world or appreciate the Kelps/Klumps?
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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    RachelB.
    Lives in Texas
    I rate this title iffy for age 6 and give it 5.0

    A very good movie, but I wouldn't recommend it for younger children. The part where the professor turns into Buddy Love for the first time might frighten them.

    This review...

    Helped me decide | Had useful details | Read my mind
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