My Wife’s Relations (1922)

This film is from the tail end of Buster Keaton’s era of independent shorts, when, by all accounts, he was getting itchy to move on to features and had waning interest in the format.  By his standards, it’s certainly middling, although there are still some solid sequences and good laughs to be had.

Thanks to an ill-timed phone call, a broken window, and a judge who only speaks Polish, Buster accidentally winds up marrying an abrasive woman who’s none too keen on him (don’t you just hate it when that happens?)  Because the logical next step after you accidentally marry someone you don’t like is “be married to them,” Buster’s less-than-blushing bride takes him home to meet the in-laws, a boorish clan with more than its share of oversized brothers.  What follows is Buster’s misadventures as he halfheartedly tries to ingratiate himself into his new “family;” the tiffs, the misunderstandings, and the slapstick are all out in full force.

If I had to pick a prevailing sensation for this short, it’s “disinterested.”  It feels a bit like it’s just going through the motions, a short-by-numbers rather than a short by Buster.  It moves fluidly enough from sequence to sequence (unlike some of his early mid-range shorts, he’s definitely learned how to craft a film at this point,) but it doesn’t seem terribly excited about getting there.

Which isn’t to say there’s nothing good here.  There are certainly Bustery touches to be had – it’s just that they flavor the short rather than saturate it.  Buster’s woes in trying to sort out his bed are top-notch, his strategy for wrestling a little dinner for himself off the plates of his ravenous in-laws is fun, and I just love the moment he shivers and turns up his collar after they all give him the stink-eye (it’s such a little thing, but it makes all the difference.)  Oh, and I like it when, having knocked out one of his brothers-in-law with a brick, he then uses the same brick as a pillow for the unconscious man.  In these moments, you can feel Buster’s personality coming through.

In general, it actually feels more like a Fatty Arbuckle short.  This isn’t a comment on the lackadaisical execution – the Arbuckle-Keaton shorts are mostly livelier, funnier, and more creative than this – so I don’t mean it as a knock against Arbuckle.  No, the similarity is in the style of the slapstick.  Much of Buster’s work focuses on 1) expert tumbling and 2) creative evasions in chase scenes to get the physical humor, but there’s not a lot of that here.  Instead, there’s more Arbuckle-esque fighting.  Punches, kicks, flung objects – this one’s down ‘n’ dirty, with a rougher quality that feels more reminiscent of Arbuckle’s slapstick sensibilities than Buster’s.  There’s a bit of a chase in the climax, which perks up a little, but the main thrust is still on clobbering.

Overall, okay.  I’d say this short falls into the “good for a silent movie” category, whereas Buster’s more signature stuff is just plain “good” (or, let’s be honest, “amazing!”), no qualifications necessary.

Warnings

Lots of slapstick violence and a little bootlegging.