Jerry Lewis made his first film appearance back in 1949, and 46 years later it seemed that he’d graced the big screen for the final time alongside Oliver Platt in “Funny Bones.” But after 18 years away, and around 30 years since his last leading role, it appears that Lewis is to return in a film called “Max Rose.” This one has been kicking around forever, with Las Vegas Weekly reporting on it back in 2010, and quoting Lewis as saying it would be about “an old man who is driven by love and optimism and by his love for his young daughter.”
The film apparently was shopped at Cannes a few years ago, and has been languishing ever since, but it now appears that some funding must have been secured because the indie is in fact going ahead and is being shot in Los Angeles. Deadline is reporting that the film, written and directed by Daniel Noah, will actually start filming today, and that Lewis will be joined by Claire Bloom, Kevin Pollak, Kerry Bishe and Mort Sahl.
An expanded plot synopsis tells us that Lewis’ character will be a jazz pianist who has recently lost his wife, but in the final days of her life he made a discovery that led him to believe that their marriage had been a lie. He then embarks on a journey to make sense of his past, which “brings him face to face with a menagerie of characters from a bygone era.” Sounds like more a drama from the funnyman than a comedy, but whatever it is, Lewis’ involvement alone will make this one likely to start popping up on the festival circuit in 2014.
