Synopsis:

Chemistry Professor Julius Kelp is one of those 98 pound weaklings put upon by the more densely packed football team type. During one of his classes, he exercises his considerable wit in demeaning one of his students for wanting to skip his Chemistry class for a football practice. Much to his surprise, the student responds to his quips by shoving him onto a shelf in his supply closet. Unwilling to remain a weakling, Julius first attempts to put on weight the conventional way by joining a gym. When that doesn't work, he begins to read up on the chemical components of the body and decides to create a potion that will break him out of his "little guy" persona & create someone outrageously huge in every regard! The end result is: Buddy Love! A hunka hunka burning love that is the coolest thing to ever hit the screen! This is truly a classic! Jerry Lewis is at his comic best and delivers easily one of the best performances of his career!

Audio/Video:

The audio was remastered and presented in a very loud but tremendously enjoyable 5.1 platform. The effects really only appear during the opening credits, Buddy Love's 1st rendition of "That Old Black Magic" and the Prom segments with Les Brown and his orchestra. The effects are more of a surround feature than presenting different audio segments from left to right/back to front. The orchestra sounds fabulous and the dialogue is crisp and clean. The video was incredibly rich and beautiful as well. The film was presented in a widescreen format and the colors really seemed to jump off of the screen. Vibrant beautiful colors; accurate flesh tones, deep blacks and an overall excellent picture are all the attributes of the transfer for this film. There were a couple of flecks in the print but nothing that was distracting. Beautiful picture and an excellent transfer!

Extras:

The only extra on the disc is a retrospective of Paramount pictures during the 50's. It covers all of the studio's big films and Oscar nods and nominations. The colors in this presentation are just as beautiful as those on the feature presentation. Especially, the "White Christmas" segment. Very nicely done but nothing at all involving the feature. Understandably, the film was released in 1963 however, it might have been nicer to add an interview with Jerry Lewis providing his insights on his film and the two features that Eddie Murphy starred in. But, as this is a Paramount disc, the extras when existent are Spartan at best.

Overall:

Before Austin Powers ever began his shagadelic adventures, Buddy Love was the baddest cat on the scene! Here 37 years later, Buddy has emerged digitally and is better than ever! Jerry Lewis is a comic genius. His body language and overall presentation tell a story no script can convey. While I thoroughly enjoyed the Nutty Professor that Eddie Murphy has done, I have to say that this is my favorite! All the jokes, and visual gags are dead on and just as funny 37 years into the experience. Definitely a classic and undoubtedly a keeper! Highly recommended!