Watch Way... Way Out For Free

Good concept, poorly executed.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Jerry Lewis (Peter), Connie Stevens (Eileen), Robert Morley (Quonset), Dennis Weaver (Hoffman), Howard Morris (Schmidlap), Brian Keith (General Hallenby), Dick Shawn (Igor), Anita Ekberg (Anna), William O'Connell (Ponsonby), Bobo Lewis (Esther Davenport), Sig Ruman (Russian delegate), Milton Frome (American delegate), Alex D'Arcy (Deuce), Linda Harrison (Linda), James Brolin (Ted), Michael Jackson (TV announcer). Narrated by Colonel "Shorty" Powers.Directed by GORDON DOUGLAS. Written for the screen by William Bowers and Laslo Vadnay. Costumes designed by Moss Mabry. Director of photography: William H. Clothier. Art direction: Jack Martin Smith and Hilyard Brown. Set decorations: Walter M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss. Unit production manager: Nathan R. Barragar. Assistant director: Joseph E. Rickards. Film editor: Hugh S. Fowler. Special photographic effects: L. B. Abbott, Emil Kosa, Jr and Howard Lydecker. Make-up by Ben Nye. Hair styles by Margaret Donovan. Music composed and conducted by Lalo Schifrin. Title song (Gary Lewis and the Playboys) by Hal Winn (lyrics), Lalo Schifrin (music). Co- ordinator for Jerry Lewis Productions: Joe E. Stabile. Sound recording: Al Overton, David Dockendorf. Westrex Sound System. A CinemaScope picture in DeLuxe Color. Producer: Malcolm Stuart. Copyright 26 October 1966 by Jerry Lewis Productions/Coldwater Productions/Way Out Company. Released through 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at neighborhood cinemas: 26 October 1966. U.S. release: 26 October 1966. U.K. release: 1 October 1967. 9,432 feet. 105 minutes. For U.S. release, the film was cut to 101 minutes. The full-length version was shown in England and probably Australia. Sydney opening at the Esquire (or Town).SYNOPSIS: 20th Century-Fox provides a new launching pad for Jerry Lewis in Way... Way Out, and literally sends him to the moon. In the film, a provocative satire on global politics, the space race and the battle of the sexes, Lewis portrays a weather astronaut stationed in space. It is a role which utilizes the full gamut of Lewis' comic talents and, with the current worldwide interest in interplanetary subjects, Way... Way Out shapes up as a film that will not only appeal to the ever growing audience of Jerry Lewis fans but to moviegoers of all types seeking modern first-rate entertainment fun. Co-starring with Lewis are vivacious Connie Stevens, fast rising young star Dick Shawn, the well-known British actor Robert Morley who was recently seen in "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" and the voluptuous Anita Ekberg. Under the direction of Gordon Douglas who guided the successful "Rio Conchos" and the soon to be released "Stagecoach", "Way... Way Out" is currently being filmed on location at the Manned Space Flight Center in Houston and at the NASA facilities in Cape Kennedy and Huntsville, Ala. Malcolm Stuart is the producer. — Fox publicity.NOTES: Final film appearance of one of our favorite character actors, Sig Rumann, who died of a heart attack in 1967 at the age of 83. Gary Lewis is Jerry's son.COMMENT: For the second time in a movie, Lewis uses his natural voice, but his vehicle here is not as successful as "Boeing Boeing". Lewis, mind you, is very good and he makes his lines seem much funnier than they are, but the film is let down by some atrocious over-acting by Dennis Weaver and Howard Morris and by a script that sags badly once the moon is reached.Director Gordon Douglas has a fine time with the sets.I think this was Sig Rumann's final film. He is very appropriately cast as one of the Russian delegates but, for some unexplained reason, his fine voice has been deleted from the sound-track and some colorless nonentity's dubbed in.The special photographic effects are extremely well done. The sets look very attractive and the whole film has been produced on an exceptionally lavish scale.

Our narrator informs us at the start that our film takes place near the turn of the century, so we must assume it is 1998 or 1999. NASA is now NAWA and is in a pickle. Both the Americans and the Russians are maintaining weather stations on the moon. The Americans have 2 male astronauts while the Russians have a male and female. The problem is, one of the Americans keeps attacking the Russian female because he has gone mad. The head of NAWA sees a publicity coup by arranging for a married American team to replace the 2 men, but everything falls apart when the newly married couple starts fighting. Enter Lewis as Peter Mattemore, the oldest trainee who always finds a way out of actual space flight. Mattemore manages to convince Eileen Forbes (played by the lovable Connie Stevens) to marry him and go to the moon with him. Hilarity ensues after they arrive at their destination to find the 2 Russian cosmonauts (played by Dick Shawn and Anita Eckberg) and find Shawn's character is a sex crazed cossack.For most of the film Lewis is rather subdued in his acting, only letting some of his comic genius burst out for a few seconds at a time. It isn't until we are 2/3's through the film that the true slapstick that we recognize as Lewis trots out during the party scene with all 4 main characters. Stevens is her usual sexy yet girl next door type. She really makes those clear plastic couches and pillows look good. Eckberg, although more statuesque and built than Stevens, takes a back seat to Connie. Shawn is a zany lunatic that is about the only equal to Lewis when it comes to over the top acting.

Way...Way Out is an interesting movie. It pokes fun at the cold war, the military, the Russians(Soviets)and the whole space race!!! Some may say that poking fun at these things is irreverant. But I say that you have to look at the context. In this case the irreverance is fair, completely fair. I say this because Way...Way Out, pokes fun at everyone involved. Way...Way Out is an excellent comedy.

"Austin Powers" spoofed spy films of the sixties and this film is somewhat in that vein except "Way... Way Out" was made from a sixties perspective, not a nineties perspective. Also, this film spoofed a sacred cow, the space program (Disney's "Moon Pilot" in 1962 covered much of this territory already and if you like one you'll probably like the other...though very few people have heard of either). Any fan of the sixties will recognize likeable Brian Keith (he also starred in "Moon Pilot"), sophisticated Robert Morley, leggy bombshell Anita Ekberg, frumpy character actor Milton Frome, studly James Brolin, wacky Howard Morris, even wackier Dick Shawn, and forever Chester, Dennis Weaver. Jerry Lewis of course is the star and delicious Connie Stevens (who Jerry introduced in the must superior "Rock-a-Bye Baby") is the eye candy. By today's standards one might consider the casting of the actresses for their physical attributes a bit sexist (like that doesn't happen today) but this is a physical comedy and placing Connie Stevens among a group of men (men always have sex on their mind don't you know) is not really all that sexist (at least not for the women). Connie Stevens success has been that she's a good comedian too. Some of the comedy is Benny Hill style (or "Austin Powers") but not crude like contemporary films "Something About Mary" or "Scary Movie."