It's been a long time since we've seen Jerry Lewis in a movie, but it's not like we haven't been hearing about his career in the meantime. Long after the French heralded his ouevre as a director and a writer, his career has received a few major, positive reappraisals from several writers, including The New Yorker's endlessly thoughtful editor-blogger Richard Brody, and his lost possible masterpiece, The Day the Clown Cried, has been teased consistently over the last few years. There's a chance we'll be seeing that film sooner than later, but for the time being, there's Max Rose, Daniel Noah's upcoming comedic drama that stars Lewis as a jazz legend who discovers evidence that his late wife was carrying on a life-long affair.
The first trailer for the film, which you can take a look at below, reveals a handsomely lensed, obviously personal drama revolving around Lewis' Rose and his relationship with his daughter (Halt and Catch Fire breakout Kerry Bishé), as well as the search for what happened with his wife and is own career. There's not a whole lot to the premise, but the trailer evokes a rare, crucial kind of intimacy that is often missing from movies about aging, with the notable exception of masterworks like About Schmidt, Harry & Tonto, and Make Way for Tomorrow. And for Lewis, this seems like a perfect sort of personal performance that he probably wasn't looking for but found all the same, in the same vein as his sensational work in Martin Scorsese's equally sensational The King of Comedy. In a Fall/Winter seasons packed with big-ticket blockbusters, Oscar hopefuls, and limp comedies, Max Rose has the faint scent of a real gem.
Here's the first trailer for Max Rose:
Here's the synopsis for Max Rose:
A jazz pianist makes a discovery days before the death of his wife that causes him to believe his sixty-five year marriage was a lie. He embarks on an exploration of his own past that brings him face to face with a menagerie of characters from a bygone era.
