Bolesroor Sense-memory time: Close your eyes and inhale through your nose, remembering the scent of mothballs. Old clothes someone thought they wanted to keep for another day... a memory with which you have no attachment... a garment that hasn't aged well. Welcome to "Three On A Couch."Jerry Lewis' psychiatrist girlfriend (Janet Leigh) won't accompany him on his sabbatical to Paris because she's so humorless and self important she refuses to abandon her practice until she "cures" her three female patients with man troubles. The nutty director (and star) decides if HE can cure these three girls behind Leigh's back by assuming multiple comic personalities then she'll surely join him for crepes in the City of Light... maybe Jerry feels that only the French will truly appreciate him ;)It's a decent setup... but the problem is the movie doesn't feel like a farce. It's heavy, moldy, and slow where comedy is usually light, crisp, and fast-paced. Leigh is stuck with dreadful dialogue proclaiming her sacred obligation as a doctor, while her MD friend sympathizes, explaining "I am a doctor too." I don't know if I've ever heard a real doctor insist they were a real doctor. Lewis achieves moments of insanity masquerading as a Southern belle AND her nebbishy geek of a brother- the scene in which he changes out of a dress and into man's clothing while loudly projecting "both" sides of the conversation is classic. Sadly, this is the movie's only highlight.An outlandish script like this should never be directed in this leaden, self-important style... its a shame but not a surprise because Lewis at this point had become a leaden, self-important man. His brilliance in early comedies like "The Errand Boy" and "The Bellboy" was eclipsed by his ego and desire to direct himself... it was more important to look cool than be funny. It's the death of the comedian, and unless you're into autopsies you won't want to linger here. Better to air out the attic, and forget the smell of mothballs.GRADE: C+

Isaac5855 One of my first exposures to Jerry Lewis as a child was the 1966 comedy THREE ON A COUCH in which Jerry played a nebbish engaged to marry a beautiful psychiatrist (Janet Leigh) who feels spends entirely too much time obsessing over three of her female patients (Leslie Parrish, Mary Ann Mobley, Gia Golan) who all have serious hang-ups regarding men and dating. In order to free up his fiancée so she'll have more time for him, Chris, Jerry's character, pretends to be three different guys and initiates a romance with all three women so that they'll gain some self-esteem where men are concerned and his fiancée will have more time to plan their wedding. I remember, even as a child, thinking to myself, "Does he really think he can get away with this?" but I guess Jerry thought like I did, he'd have no career. The three imaginary suitors border on cartoon characters and the lovely Leigh is wasted in thankless role, but there are scattered laughs throughout and Jerry has made worst movies, but it's better than a route canal.

Gangsteroctopus I must admit to having a perverse fascination for Jerry Lewis, somewhat akin to the masochistic pleasure I get from unzipping scabs. How anyone beside retarded four-year-olds can find this guy funny is utterly beyond me. Jerry's biggest mistake was breaking up with Dino, who was always far more talented in every way, even and especially as a comedian. Jerry Lewis' awesomely overinflated ego is in evidence in nearly every frame of this awful, awful, AWFUL movie, from every bit of painfully unfunny 'business' he gives himself to the multiple roles he unsuccessfully assays. Like nearly all of his solo efforts (especially those that he also directed, and that includes "The Nutty Professor", another grossly overrated film), this movie is UTTER TORTURE to sit through if you have a functional brainstem. JERRY LEWIS SUCKS! HE IS NOT FUNNY. Why is he still alive and Dino's dead? (Well, maybe the liquor and cigarettes had something to with it.)

STACYFIVE I am a caption editor so I've spent many hours with this movie. Kind of a drag... at least it's in color. My how Janet Leigh aged from Psycho to here... Jerry Lewis on the way to a heart attack from the smoking and drinking... The story is ridiculous, as the premise dies as soon as you think how silly it is that a person would not quit their job to go to Paris, with no expenses, for a year. Tired Vaudeville schtick fills in the gap. Well produced yawner.