Sherlock Jr.: Top Five Gags

It’s not very long, but it has an awful lot of laughs.  These are my top picks from the delightful Sherlock Jr.

Lost Dollars

Let’s face it – if Buster finds a dollar while he’s sweeping, of course the owner is going to come back for it, along with someone else to claim another of the two dollars he already had, and he’s naturally going to miss the wallet stuffed with cash in the same pile.  My favorite part is Buster asking the first woman to describe her lost dollar and then using the same descriptive gestures when the second woman comes along.

Handholding Chicken

Equal parts sweet, adorable, and hilarious.  I love the timid way Buster and his girl inch their hands toward one another, his skittish withdrawal.  I love how determinedly she slams her hand back down, and when he does the same (on top of hers,) their identical looks of alarm are priceless.  Bonus points for the engagement ring featuring the world’s tiniest diamond and Buster being prepared with his magnifying glass.

Shadow Your Man Closely

First of all, Buster does an expert job of staying right on his mark’s tail.  I don’t know if it was perfectly choreographed or if he just follows the other guy’s cues so well, but their twin movements are great.  I especially like when the suspect picks up a cigarette butt, gives it a puff, and flicks it over his shoulder, where Buster catches it and does the exact same thing.

Deadly Billiards

Such a great part of the Sherlock Jr. dream sequence.  The villains’ obvious terror of the explosive billiard ball goes wonderfully with Buster’s oblivious nonchalance, and I adore the lackey’s non-verbal play-by-play on how each of Buster’s shots just misses the lethal ball.  Capped by Buster privately revealing the swapped-out balls.

The Handlebar Getaway

A classic.  Buster loses his driver early on in his dramatic getaway but has no idea, and he blithely careens through all manner of dangers perched on the handlebars of the driverless motorbike.  The whole scene has such expertly-timed gags, from the trucks pulling in to fill the gap of the unfinished bridge, to the felled tree in the road being blown up at the perfect moment (not to mention, all the long shots really are Buster sitting on the handlebars of a motorbike and steering it through a crowded scene – he was a wonder!)