His Ex Marks the Spot (1940)

Not a fan of this one.  Admittedly, it does have its moments, but it has a substandard-sitcom premise, a fair amount of lazy humor, and kind of an ugly atmosphere.  Definitely a fine example of why Buster disliked the Columbia shorts.

Buster and his wife have been living hand to mouth due to the steep alimony he has to pay to his ex.  Buster gets the “brilliant” idea to get his ex-wife to simply move in with them in lieu of the monthly gouging, and you can just imagine how well that goes over.  The brassy ex soon arrives with her loutish boyfriend, and together, they take over the place like they own it.  Desperate, Buster’s wife latches onto a plan to convince the ex to marry her boyfriend, in hopes of being rid of the pair from their home (and Buster’s wallet) for good.

I suppose, at the very least, I can say the short is effective, because the ex-wife and her boyfriend are everything they set out to be:  obnoxiously off-putting.  Both of them are loud, coarse, selfish, and mean-spirited, and I feel every bit of Buster and his wife’s irritation at their oppressively-abrasive presence.  But while it may be effectively depicted, it’s by no means enjoyable to watch.

It’s not that terrible people can’t be entertaining.  They can – under the right circumstances, they can even be bang-up protagonists.  And as villains, it can be satisfying to see awful people get their comeuppance at the hands of the put-upon heroes.  But these two aren’t entertaining.  They’re not charismatic, they’re not witty, they’re just there, brash and demanding.

What’s worse, they spend all their time putting down Buster just for the hell of it.  Buster’s got a major chump thing going on here, the sadsack who’s continually humiliated by these two losers.  The boyfriend is especially aggravating; he has this dumb, raucous laugh that he does all the time, even when Buster hasn’t done anything “lame” or whatever.  It’s like he finds Buster ridiculous merely for existing, and Buster doesn’t stand up for himself nearly enough to counteract this guy’s stupidity.

But as I said, there are a few bright spots, all in the physical comedy.  I get a laugh out of Buster trying to avoid being hit in the face by a door (the ex-wife and boyfriend are in the process of moving in, so there’s a stream of people coming in and out – always at the wrong time, of course.)  I enjoy Buster’s wife trying to assist him in carrying his ex’s enormous trunk on his back like a bell hop.  I’m amused that Buster’s poor boxing stance when he’s finally had enough of the boyfriend causes him to be repeatedly punched in the face by his own fist.  And Buster has a really funny, way-too-short sequence trying to iron a pair of unruly pants.

Warnings

Slapstick violence and some smoking.