It’s been 21 years since Jerry Lewis last starred in a film, 1995’s British stage show dramedy Funny Bones. Earlier this year, it was announced that he’d be briefly coming back to acting, appearing in an upcoming Nicolas Cage movie as Cage’s father, presumably to provide the secret origin of the Face/Off star’s tendency for the manic mug. But before that, we’ve got a trailer for another starring role from the 90-year-old comedy legend and would-be Holocaust clown, with Lightstream Entertainment releasing a promo today for Lewis’ melodramatic Max Rose.
Centering on Lewis as the titular blues-playing widower, who discovers that his wife of 65 years might have been unfaithful, the film was actually finished three years ago, and played at Cannes. This long of a pause between completion and release isn’t usually a good sign for a film’s success. (That being said, you have to go way past “weepy meditation on love and faithfulness” to snag the title of “most problematic unreleased Jerry Lewis film,” so there’s a point in its favor.) Co-starring Kevin Pollack, Illeana Douglas, and Dean Stockwell, Max Rose looks like a standard indie flick, trading on the novelty of a straight, serious performance from its aging star. But hey, if you’re a Lewis fan jonesing for your Jerry fix now that the MDA Telethon has been shuttered once and for all, you could probably do worse.