This film takes place during World War 2 with some soldiers stationed stateside and currently being trained for possible combat in Europe. As it so happens, one particular soldier named "PFC Alvin Korwin" (Jerry Lewis) desperately wants a 3-day pass in order to visit his wife who has just had a baby. The problem is that he is not a good soldier and as a result his superiors don't believe he deserves any time off. Complicating matters even further for him is the fact that, prior to going into the Army, he was good friends with a man named "Vic Puccinelli" (Dean Martin) who has since become his superior and is wary of being associated with him. Additionally, 1SG Puccinelli is a ladies' man who desperately wants to go to war--in part to get away from one particular female named "Millie" (Jean Ruth) who has just become pregnant. In the meantime, however, while avoiding Millie, he becomes attracted to a young woman by the name of "Helen Palmer" (Polly Bergen) who is currently dating another soldier in the same company named "Private Jack Edwards" (Paul Livermore). So, when Private Edwards learns that he is being sent overseas he immediately thinks 1SG Puccinelli had something to do with it and in response he decides to use Millie's condition as a way to pressure him to have his orders cancelled. What nobody counts on, however, is the impact their separate agendas will have on all of them when everything is revealed. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be a rather uneven comedy due in large part to the manner in which both Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin were used. For example, the large difference in rank seemed to minimize the personal humor between them to a certain extent. Likewise, it seemed like there were too many characters competing for too little screen time and as such nobody really stood out. At least, that's the way it seemed to me. Be that as it may, while I don't think this was a bad film by any means, it wasn't nearly as good as some of the other Lewis & Martin films and I have rated it accordingly. Average.
Review of At War with the Army
