Top Five Gags: Daydreams

*Spoilers.*

November 27, 1922: the day Daydreams was released. It’s a little flimsy, a string of gag sequences revolving around Buster trying different jobs to support his girl and inevitably causing havoc wherever he goes. Middling at best, but it still has its moments.

 

Looking for the Cat

Love this little bit of business. While working at an animal hospital, Buster puts a cat in a carrying basket to bring it into the vet. Naturally, the bottom has fallen out of the basket, so he leaves the cat behind, which he doesn’t realize until he opens the basket up again. The moment of beauty here is when, after peering into the empty basket and holding it up to see the bottom is missing, he turns it upside down and shakes it, as if he thinks the cat might still be in there somewhere! A tiny moment, but it’s so great.

 

 

Catching a Skunk

The cat and a dog have both run off, and Buster goes out to look for them. While he finds the dog, he mistakes a skunk for the cat and carries it inside instead. This is a wonderfully executed gag—rather than actually seeing the skunk spray Buster, we cut directly from him stepping inside with the skunk to him coming out in a bathrobe, grabbing a shovel to bury his stinky clothes in the yard. As a perfect capper, out comes the dog to bury its collar alongside him.

 

 

Putting Out the Fire

Buster’s now working as a street sweeper, and when he encounters an avalanche of ticker tape from a parade, he decides to deal with it by lighting it on fire (you know, as you do.) Within moments, flaming ticker tape is blowing everywhere, which leaves Buster flailing to control the high-powered hose and put it out. Bonus points for the moment when Big Joe Roberts hurls the bass drum from the parade band at Buster, who blasts it back with the hose.

 

 

Evading the Cops

After a disastrous theatrical debut, Buster is being chased by the cops and desperately needs to get out of his conspicuous Roman centurion costume. He comes to an outdoor display at a clothing store and quickly helps himself to a pair of pants, a jacket, and a hat. With the store owner demanding payment and one of the police who’d been chasing him eyeing him suspiciously, Buster is stuck—until he reaches into his pocket and discovers a wad of cash. Unbeknownst to him, a pickpocket had stolen that money from the store owner earlier, stashing it in that pants pocket when a cop came by. Nice resolution to a fun circular gag!

 

 

Water Wheel

Still running from the cops, Buster has hopped onto a paddle steamer, but the police have enough time to board before it departs. With them now searching the boat, Buster hides out by sitting inside the water wheel—until the boat starts picking up speed, of course. I’d say this is the most famous gag from this short, and while the barrel-rolling Damfino from The Boat is better, this is still a ton of fun. Buster starts out able to keep up with the spin of the wheel but quickly loses his footing as it speeds up. He tumbles around the inside of the wheel, he clings to the exterior and gets dunked every time it revolves, and he just generally has a bad time. But as always, a bad time for Buster is a great time for us!

News Satire Roundup: November 20th

Sunday, November 20

·        Recap of the Week – Chaos at Twitter under Elon Musk

o   Loved this description of Elon Musk – “A man who answers the question, ‘What if Willy Wonka benefited from apartheid?’”

o   Yeesh – “Many of the worst people on Twitter seemed to take Elon’s arrival as a sign that the brakes were now off, with one analysis finding the use of a racial slur spiking nearly 500% in the 12 hours after his deal was finalized. Which is pretty shocking, even for a website where a regular trending topic is sometimes just ‘The Jews.’”

·        And Now This – Local anchors talk about Thanksgiving foods

o   This one made me laugh – “Turkey tastes like dirt. Ham tastes like salted dirt.”

o   One anchor lamented that her kid hates Thanksgiving food, saying, “Listen, I tried! I make really good green bean casserole too.” – In response, her colleague deadpanned, “Apparently not!”

·        Main Story – The Qatar World Cup

o   Brutal – “FIFA: a cartel-like group of scumbags and assorted criminals who occasionally put on soccer matches.”

o   This was a great line – “Qatar wasn’t just a surprising choice, it was logically inexplicable. It would be like if the Westminster Dog Show awarded the Best in Show title to a tortoise. Nothing against that tortoise, but not only should it not have won, it should’ve been automatically disqualified.”

o   In order to host the World Cup, Qatar had to construct a whole new city to hold all the necessary stadiums, hotels, and amenities. Most of the labor came from migrant workers boxed into horrific conditions under the exploitative kafala system – “it’s true. All the new stadiums and infrastructure were essentially built through modern-day slavery. So we should probably introduce a new collective noun to refer to this group of stadiums: a gaggle of geese, a pod of whales, an atrocity of stadiums.”

o   One journalist interviewed a Qatari official about the migrants’ squalid living conditions, a conversation that did not go well – “Incredible. Nothing says ‘workers live in a comfortable and healthy environment’ quite like leaving the room 30 seconds are you realize that the person you’re talking to has actually seen that environment.”

o   When the head of FIFA was questioned about Qatar’s harsh anti-LGTBQ laws, which involve harsh prison sentences for men engaging in same-sex behavior, he shrugged it off, quipping that maybe gay athletes or fans should just refrain from those activities during the World Cup – “You know, they say in comedy, you can either punch up, punch down, or co-sign oppressive governments for a quick laugh while looking like the Penguin went to Wharton.”

o   Ever the class act, we also saw the head of FIFA in a truly despicable photo op – “Quick tip for the president of FIFA: if you are going to make arguments about how your organization is a ‘global force for good,’ maybe try not to sit between Mohammed bin Salman and Vladimir Putin, because you’re the filling in a real shit sandwich there.”

·        And Now This – Local anchors debate “pecan” pronunciation

o   Can’t argue with that – “It’s a ‘pi-cahn.’ Who wants to eat something called a ‘pee-can’?”

·        Finally – Last show of 2022

o   To wrap up the season, John caught up with the latest AI images involving him, focusing on a saga about him having a horrific unicycle mishap.

o   Once again, the AI image generator cheated the people out of a climactic image, as it pulled its punches on the end of the story – The creator had envisioned John ending an episode with 50 clowns careering on the studio on unicycles.

o   Naturally, John had to oblige and make that prompt a reality – “The concept of chaotic clowns wobbling around dangerously on unicycles actually felt like a pretty decent metaphor for the year that we all just went through. It’s messy, idiotic, a little bit scary, and it feels like someone didn’t fully think it all through.”

Y tu Luna también: Andor: Season 1, Episode 12 – “Rix Road” (2022)

*Episode premise spoilers, which spoils episode 11.*

I feel drained yet energized. What a masterful show. Every person involved with this series has been putting their whole hearts into it from day one, and here, they land the plane beautifully. It’s a show I can feel in my blood. With season one over, I feel a little adrift, but I’m also counting down the unknown number of days until season two. This show!

Last episode, we found out that Maarva passed away. She hadn’t been taking care of herself since Cassian left and had been sick for a while. Dedra plans to use her funeral as bait for a trap to catch Cassian. Everyone is converging on Ferrix, and Cassian has to decide what he’s going to do, what sort of man he’s going to be, and how he can honor Maarva’s memory.

I won’t get too much into the plot stuff here. Just know that it’s all fantastic. Each storyline comes to a head with tension and emotion, and the way the different threads come together culminate in an explosive finale. On Ferrix, you can feel it stirring in the air like electricity before a storm, as everyone prepares themselves for what’s coming. ISB and the Rebels are both waiting to catch Cassian, and the citizens of Ferrix have a few things to say about people coming into their house and hurting their friends.

The dialogue is incredible. There are some gorgeous speeches on display, and even small moments sing with beauty and intensity. This is truly a writer’s show, and the actors have such rich material to work with.

Our final character of the week this season is Brasso, played by Joplin Sibtain, who’s had small guest roles on two different Whoniverse properties (The Sarah Jane Adventures and new Who.) A friend of Cassian’s from Ferrix, Brasso is a salt-of-the-earth workman who looks out for his own. The ISB officers surveilling him call him “the big guy,” but really, he has a big heart. We saw it most acutely on display in episode 11 as he comforted poor B2EMO after Maarva’s death, and we see it here in his relief to see Cassian, even as he worries for him.

At this point in Cassian’s journey, it makes sense that he’s just stupid and sentimental enough to come to Ferrix immediately after breaking out of prison. He doesn’t know quite how much heat will be on him until he arrives, but he has to know what a bad idea it is. However, once he’s there, I really like seeing how he operates, the choices he makes amid his grief and guilt as he skulks through the powder keg of Ferrix.

It's interesting. Cassian is definitely an active character who makes big plot things happen, but he’s also so quiet and observant. This is another episode where a lot of Diego Luna’s best moments come in his wordless reactions. The stirring emotions in his face as he thinks of Maarva and Clem, another parent he lost. The beat he takes before pulling the trigger on an Imperial soldier. The gentle way he approaches a devastated friend. The tightness of his grip as he hugs Brasso upon seeing him. Not that he has no dialogue—he may not have a ton, but he always makes it count. But every moment is played so strongly. Luna’s performance wastes nothing, and in a series where Cassian is surrounded by a lot of showier, more verbose characters, it says something that he keeps drawing your eye to him.

Even though this is the longest Disney+ show to date and Andor just gave us twelve glorious episodes in a single season, I can’t quite believe that it’s over. “And now my watch begins” for the long wait until season 2.

Closing thoughts on this first season:

Recommend?

In General – Unquestionably. This isn’t just a great show. It’s is one of the best shows out there, some of the best Star Wars in existence. It’s ludicrously engrossing for Star Wars fans while still being perfectly accessible to those who are not. A prestige drama that tackles weighty themes with complexity and power. If you’re not watching already, why on earth not?

Diego Luna – Absolutely. I loved Luna in Rogue One, but he’s incredible here. A nuanced performance that never misses, Luna makes Cassian one of the most captivating characters in the Star Wars universe. I’m just so damn happy that this show exists for him.

Warnings

Strong thematic elements, violence, drinking, implied sexual content, and mild language.