quridley
It's your standard Jerry Lewis directed film. While a great actor and praised by the French for how weird his directing is, Lewis is not a funny director. He's so indulgent, ego driven and dismissive of the audience. The whole thing is an obvious love letter to Dean Martin that remakes the style of the old Martin/Lewis comedies. But people expected an Ocean's 11 spinoff, not Sammy Davis Jr doing a Jerry impression for 3/4ths of the runtime. For Jerry fans, it is one of his most bizarre and well budgeted films so Lewis makes his directing the star. It's never funny but it is experimental technically. It's dated and somewhat offensive politically: racism is treated as a joke, minorities buffoons, women are ornaments and Lewis, Sammy and Lawford are way too old to try to be hip or youthful. I enjoyed the minor action scenes which were the biggest stretch for Lewis and there is a clever plot in there (not written by Jerry) but it's trashed for long unfunny mugging takes and unoriginal slapstick that slows everything down. Some will find that genius but it's obviously Lewis exploiting the opportunity he was given and loading up on filler rather than thinking hard or saying anything or putting the sauced fun on-set on to the screen.
aramis-112-804880
The two very famous stars (at the time, in the notorious Frank Sinatra orbit), in their mid- to late-forties, were playing silly "hip" and "mod" types, in a typical late 60s Silly-British-James-Bond-Rip-Off.Apparently this movie was a sequel to "Salt and Pepper" (which I have not seen), about two nightclub owners Salt (Sammy Davis Jr.) and Pepper (Peter Lawford). It's not as weird as it seems back then, stars were stars even if they were middle-aged. These days if you're over thirty you can't be a lead; but in the good old days of freewheeling movie-making you could be in your fifties and a heart throb.
And this movie is pretty freewheeling, as it was directed by the totally unprofessional Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin's sidekick and most famous these days for telethons and running around yelling, "Lay-dee! Lay-dee!" Jerry Lewis was a megalomaniac of the worst kind, one with no discernible talent. He does a lousy job which was a shame, since Sammy Davis, Jr. had enormous talent. He could sing, dance, act and do voices. He was one of the most talented individuals in the public eye in the twentieth century and it shows through. But mostly, Lewis lets Davis run around with as little discipline as himself.Everything looks like it might have been put together by amateurs for a college course. The plot is silly, but lots of them were back then. It was a kind of "deconstruction" of movies in the late 60s. Watch Tony Curtis movies like "Arrivederci, Baby!" or Dean Martin's "Matt Helm" flicks (which may have drawn Lewis to this project, as he always liked to play "catch up" with Martin). Silly was in, but this flick was hardly as well done as later with the Abrahams/Zucker or the Farrelly Bros.Apart from keeping Lawford and and Davis in the public eye and keeping them "cool," I can't think of a reason for making this movie at all. The plot is silly, the acting is on par with people who know they're doing a picture of little value, and Lewis made a hash of the direction. It's one of the movies you watch through just so you'll never have to see it again.Highlights: 1) Mix-up of the opening credits (you know you're in trouble if that's the best part); 2) a couple of good cameos in unexpected places (okay, if you're in imdb you can see Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are in it; and though they're only there for a few seconds, they lift the movie momentarily.
bravo78
An unfunny disjointed mess of a movie. Directed by Jerry Lewis, it's apparent the movie was a vehicle for Sammy to channel the comedic stylings of Lewis. Safe to say, Sammy is no Jerry.The plot has Lawford assume the identity of his wealthy slain twin brother by getting the police to believe it was his character (Pepper) that was killed. And he keeps this little secret from his best buddy Sammy (Salt). Movie moves to big castle and no hilarity ensues.Lewis has Sammy engage in some comedic 'bits' where Sammy has difficulty crossing the street, difficulty with a teapot, difficulty with a water heater and unwittingly encountering some Satanic ritual. All fall flat. Really flat. The teapot scene was just pathetic.And unlike their earlier pairing in 'Salt and Pepper', Sammy and Lawford now seem devoid of chemistry. 'One More Time' is for Jerry Lewis and Rat Pack fans only.
BaronBl00d
Follow-up to Salt and Pepper where Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr. played two very middle-aged swingers running a night spot called Salt and Pepper. This time around the two get into trouble for repeated problems and ask Lawford's lookalike brother(yes, he plays him as well) for money. Turns out he is a Lord and owns the family castle given up by Pepper so long ago. Also turns out he is involved in smuggling diamonds and is a double agent, etc... Lawford's brother is killed and Lawford as Pepper assumes his brother's role and hilarity is to ensue - NOT! While I believe this to be a more engaging and slightly more amusing vehicle than the original Salt and Pepper, it really doesn't have a lot going for it. Jerry Lewis directs his buddies Davis and Lawford and with his special brand of humour. We get Davis trying to be Jerry Lewis in several scenes: a scene with him seeing how everything is huge in his new bedroom at the castle where he looks and everything looks so huge. I have seen Lewis pull this same thing countless times. Davis; not sure if this is a compliment or not, is no Lewis; however. He just doesn't have the same lunatic spirit though he has some scenes which are slightly amusing. Most of the time he does come off as being very flat because the material is so tiresome and over-used. The brightest spots in the movie are Lawford's as he pulls off playing the two brothers really rather well. The plot is ridiculous. Are we really to believe that these two over-the-hill guys are hip swingers? Davis of course sings a few tunes including the somewhat catchy "One More Time" as the opening and end credits roll. For me the only fascinating aspect of the film is the addition of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in brief - and I mean BRIEF - cameos. In one scene Davis finds a wooden secret panel in the castle that has behind it , down some steps, a laboratory with Cushing standing, a woman on a gurney, and Lee bearing fangs. Cushing has a brief line or so as does Lee. Their screen time is embarrassingly slight. Why Lewis didn't given them a bit more time amazes me as THIS scene is the opening scene in this film's theatrical trailer! Unfortunately Cushing and Lee maybe have 30 seconds of screen time. But if you are a completist in either's filmography, you will have to endure One More Time at least once.