Nick M
What a breezy breath of fresh air for a Harold Lloyd pic! I love when these comedy shorts actually have a cohesive narrative and a sensible build up. Our boy Harold is wooing a big wig's daughter (and going into debt to do it), but she tells him he must ask her father for permission to marry her. The problem is pop is such a busy man that it's impossible to get into his office to see him. He tries increasingly elaborate methods of gaining an audience but is repeatedly rebuffed by bouncers, other attention seekers, and trap doors. Through all of his trials one of the employees, played by Bebe Daniels, attempts to make his life easier. Mostly this involves strategic placing of a pillow to soften his next inevitable fall as he is hurled out of various rooms toward the exit. Finally, he manages to gain the boss's attention only to have the phone ring: it's the boss's daughter, and would you please tell my father that I've married another man and we're off to start our honeymoon? Dejected, he leaves, only to realize that there's a new woman in his life who might actually be worth his time and energy. It's not often in these slapsticks that the de rigueur romance actually makes sense, but here we see the seeds planted in a believable way! Moreover, his goal is clear, relatable, and noble, and it gives us something to root for in a way that most of his other pictures do not. Lloyd is really starting to think about his comedies in a way that will elevate them closer to the stature of Chaplin's pictures and appeal to a wider audience who expects more than the same ole, same ole.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
09/07/24
Full Review
Audience Member
The wooing, and the gags, are lightning quick in this lickety-split short. Lloyd looks damn spiffy in a suit of armor.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Harold Lloyd is no Chaplin or Keaton, but he maintains the practical everyman stance with likeableness and perseverance.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/18/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Seriously? I'm the only person to review this movie? Awesome. I didn't recommend that Flixster put it in. This is one of those titles that no one jumped aboard.
I have another issue. This is one of those thirteen minute movies. Like the last Harold Lloyd movie I reviewed, this review is going to end up longer than the film itself. Consider this more of a commentary than a comedy. I actually really like this movie. Sure, it is short, similar to <i>An Eastern Westerner</i>, but it is signfiicantly more straightforward that <i>Westerner</i>. <i>Westerner</i> was really a shameless collection of jokes all strung together against a western backdrop. Really, Lloyd has one joke in mind and he just molds it into a perfect gag. In fact, what this is what SNL tries to do week in and week out. It's one idea, but unlike SNL's completely beating to death of a concept, this is more of a different look that gives the idea a sense of completeness. While SNL (and I'm sorry for bashing it so hard, but there are some serious issues with a lot of the comedy on the show), tries to milk the lifetime of an idea by repeating the same joke, this is a modeling that always throws a new curve at its audience while not being afraid to use callbacks to previous ideas.
I do have to point out the fact that Harold Lloyd must really be an adept climber because he does a scene straight out of <i>Safety Last</i> by climbing the side of the building. I wouldn't even be surprised to hear if it was the same building, equipped with convienient ledges that double for handholds on the side of the building. I was amazed to see that the actor perhaps developed that concept years before during the shooting of this film to really bring about his opus.
Storywise, there's not much to go on. This reminds me of the Pixar short before a Pixar movie. We have the general outline of a plot, which in this case, is very clear. The plot then abandons the movie, but still stays in the subconscious as you see the boy fight against what seems to be a brutal joining of science and nature take place. There's a certain amount of chivalry that happens this film. While in other films (and I'm not saying that this movie has that sense as well), you are more concerned with getting to the visual gags. This one's got a ton of visual gags, but you really want the Boy to succeed rather than simply get splattered by a rug treadmill. That takes something that can't normally be found in a lot of comedies.
There's no reason you can't sit down and watch this movie. It isn't perfect, but it is thirteen minutes long and has the most heart that I've seen out of a Harold Lloyd movie so far.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/19/23
Full Review
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