''Max Rose'' is a 2016 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written and directed by Daniel Noah, and distributed by Paladin Films. The film stars Jerry Lewis,

Kevin Pollak Kevin Elliot Pollak (born October 30, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host. He has appeared in over 80 films; his roles include Sam Weinberg in Rob Reiner's legal film ''A Few Good Men'', Jacob Goldman in '' Grump ...

Kerry Bishé Kerry Lynne Bishé (born May 1, 1984) is a New Zealand-born American actress, known for her lead role as Donna Clark in the AMC television series '' Halt and Catch Fire''. Bishé played the lead/narrator role in the final season of the ABC medi ...

Claire Bloom Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is known for leading roles in plays such as ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''A Doll's House'', and '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', and has starred in nearly sixty film ...

and

Dean Stockwell Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades. As a child actor under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he first came to the public's attention in films including ''Anchors A ...

. Its story follows a

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

who suspects that his wife of 65 years may have been unfaithful. The film was among the last released for Jerry Lewis, Dean Stockwell and

Mort Sahl Morton Lyon Sahl (May 11, 1927 – October 26, 2021) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, and social satirist, considered the first modern comedian. Sahl pioneered a style of social satire that pokes fun at political and current event t ...

, before their passings in 2017 and 2021 respectively, although Lewis and Stockwell filmed scenes for other films later that were released before ''Max Rose'', including '' The Trust'','' Persecuted'', and ''

Entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

''. The film was produced by Lightstream Entertainment and Rush River Entertainment. An initial cut of the film was shown at the 2013

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. It grossed $4,000 in its opening weekend, and $66,680 worldwide, and has an approval rating of 37% based on 43 reviews

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

Plot

Max Rose is an aging jazz pianist who learns that his wife of 65 years may have been unfaithful to him. Though his career was not everything he had hoped it would be, Max Rose always felt like a success because his beautiful, elegant wife, Eva, was by his side. While going through her things, however, Max discovers an object bearing an intimate inscription from another man, a shocking revelation that leads him to believe his entire marriage, indeed, his entire life, was built on a lie. Coping with anger, withdrawal and his own fragile health, Rose embarks on an exploration of his past, all the while searching for Eva's mystery suitor, hoping to find the answers he needs to be at peace.

Cast

* Jerry Lewis as Max Rose *

as Annie Rose *

Illeana Douglas Illeana Hesselberg (born July 25, 1961 or 1965), known professionally as Illeana Douglas, is an American actress and filmmaker. She appeared in three episodes of '' Six Feet Under'', for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination as O ...

as Jenny Flowers *

Rance Howard Rance Howard (born Harold Engle Beckenholdt; November 17, 1928 – November 25, 2017) was an American actor who starred in film and on television. He was the father of actor and filmmaker Ron Howard and actor Clint Howard, and grandfather of actr ...

as Walter Prewitt *

as Christopher Rose *

as Jack Murphy *

as Ben Tracey *

Lee Weaver Lee Weaver (born April 10, 1930) is an American film and television actor. Early life Weaver was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the son of Josephine and Primus Jest Weaver, a chef. Weaver was the voice of Alpine in the animated television ...

as Lee Miller *

Fred Willard Frederic Charles Willard (September 18, 1933 May 15, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, and writer. He was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film '' This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984); the Christopher Guest mockumentaries '' W ...

as Jim Clark *

as Eva Rose

Production

It was Lewis's first starring film role since 1995's ''

Funny Bones ''Funny Bones'' is a 1995 comedy-drama film from Hollywood Pictures. It was written, directed and produced by Peter Chelsom, co produced by Simon Fields, and co written by Peter Flannery. The music score was by John Altman, and the cinematogr ...

'', as well as his final starring role. Oscar winners

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many son ...

with Alan and Marilyn Bergman created an original song for the feature. The film was produced by Lightstream Entertainment's Garrett Kelleher and Blackbird's Lawrence Inglee, along with Rush River's Bill Walton.

Release

A preliminary cut of the film was shown at the

in 2013. It had its first official screening, and US premiere, at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

as the final piece of a MOMA exhibition called "Happy Birthday, Mr. Lewis: The Kid Turns 90" in April 2016. ''Max Rose'' received a limited theatrical release through Paladin in September 2016, with nationwide expansion in October 2016.

Reception

The film has a 37% rating on

, based on 43 critic reviews, stating that "''Max Rose'' marks Jerry Lewis' long-overdue return to the screen – and is unfortunately less than memorable in almost every other respect."

References

External links

* *{{rotten-tomatoes, max_rose 2016 films 2016 drama films American drama films Films about old age 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language drama films