The Court Jester (Melvin Frank, Norman Panama 1955) : USA

Reviewed by Lisa Walters. Viewed at AFI Film Festival 2013.

The Court Jester begins, the costumes look like they are from a high school play, the acting is over the top, and I can pretty much guess the story..and a part of me desperately wanted to run for the exit in the theatre I was at in Hollywood. Nothing terrible happens, but the feel of the movie from the start was so sticky-sweet and fake (“You’ll die for that!” Over a sideways glance… Followed by very staged sword crossing (“fighting”? ) and then everything managed to be fine again. I was afraid this would continue for another 90 minutes. I was delighted to be wrong. Enter Danny Kaye. At first he seems lovably one-dimensional, as if he’d be the same basic character throughout this fun movie. Not so! Danny Kaye as the “Court Jester to the King”, an imposter who is there to infiltrate the kings private quarters and secure a special key, he has many sides. From the simple man who’s probably in love with a woman in charge of him, he is endearing and romantic, with a beautiful voice that could melt butter. There is a baby in this story, the heir to the throne, with a peculiar birth mark on its backside. Seeing Danny Kaye lift the diaper and show the birth mark over and over was hilariously silly. As the Court Jester, (he impersonates the real one) He plays it off perfectly, you’d never guess he was making it up as he went along. As an old man, getting laughs for even the most obvious of jokes (hard of hearing jokes?) He still manages to delight. And when he is hypnotized by a witch in to a great romantic sword fighter, I laughed out loud as he switched back and forth from a debonair,  capable swordsman, to an insecure, bumbling idiot . This this movie won’t win any prizes for depth, it was light and happy and easy to swallow.  After subtitles and heavy foreign films, it was just exactly what the Dr. ordered.

The Court Jester

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Published:
11.17.13 / 11pm
Category:
AFI Filmfest 2013, Films