Fair-to-middling
Eduational short this week, I’d say. It
has its moments, and the Keaton family reunion makes me smile, but it’s nothing
too special
A
family of hillbillies has been getting along well enough for themselves, but
they’ve hit a crisis: it turns out,
Prohibition was repealed over a year ago, which puts a damper on their
moonshine business. The family’s
patriarch decides that wrestling matches are where the money’s at now and
starts training the larger of his two sons to enter the ring. Given Buster’s stature, he is not the larger of the two sons, but he
does still get on the action, helping with the training and serving as the
referee when the day of the big fight comes.
This
short manages four out of five Keatons, with Buster’s parents (Joe and Myra)
and sister (Louise) taking on the same familial roles in the film. It’s fun to see them all onscreen together,
and each Keaton gets a few nice comedic moments of their own. When the family is settling into their bunks
for the night, Joe carefully drops his boots on Buster’s head, Myra has an
amusing bit featuring the fancy new teeth Joe has bought for her, and Louise
has a couple of really great tumbles.
And
Buster, of course, gets some good routines.
Like Allez-Oop, the heaviest
physical comedy is in the second half, once the wrestling starts. The whole setup feels reminiscent of Battling Butler, although there aren’t
any bits directly lifted from there. We
have a fun training scene, a predictably disastrous match (in which Buster put
himself in the line of fire way more than any ref needs to,) and a great shot
of Buster brought to the dinner table by his brother. In the latter, he has his legs wrapped around
his brother’s waist but somehow keeps his rest of him all but perpendicular to
the floor (that’s killer core strength – he clearly got his form back after the
troubles at MGM.)
Most of
the entertainment just comes from the family’s interactions with another; there’s
a funny scene of them all around the table together that’s inspired by the
dinner scene in My Wife’s Relations. The short tends to succeed in the little
moments, but what story there is isn’t much to write home about. Besides the gags, tumbles, and hick jokes,
not a whole lot there.
I don’t
mind the enormous fake beards on Buster and the other hillbilly guys. It looks as goofy as it does fake, but it
only covers the chin and sides, so it doesn’t get in the way of Buster’s always
surprisingly-expressive stone face, which is the main thing.
Warnings
Slapstick
violence and alcohol references.
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