Spite Marriage

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s r The ridiculousness of Buster Keaton is amazing. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member The best comedy movie ever made! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member This film is certainly not Buster Keaton's best work, though that's a very high bar. The plot meanders and lacks the charm and spontaneity we love from him. It too often relies on simple pratfalls, and there is not enough time devoted to his playful antics or wild stunts. The middle of the picture in particular is slow, and co-star Dorothy Sebastian acting drunk shows just how hard it is to do physical comedy that is sophisticated and funny, or to create something out of nothing, as Keaton so often does. With all of that said, 'Spite Marriage' has a 34-year-old Buster Keaton still in his prime, and some pretty clever scenes. He gets enlisted into a stage play in the first part, and after botching up his make-up while another actor puts his on professionally, proceeds to foul up the production in various funny ways. As he tries to elude those chasing him afterwards, he does a rapid change into a top hat and tails that is both entertaining and shows off his muscular body. Later in the film, he does some impressive stuntwork on a yacht, at one point getting thrown off, and then as the yacht goes by quickly, catches a small boat trailing behind and hauls himself into it. Throughout the movie, he's lovable and a joy to watch. This was Keaton's last silent picture, and as the 1930's would not be kind to him, it marks a transition for him. If you can avoid comparing it to his masterpieces (which I know is tough!), you'll probably find it's well worth watching. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member [img]http://www.art-posters.net/posters/newart/cm974.jpg[/img] Although [i]Spite Marriage[/i], Buster Keaton's last silent film, is not as good as some of his other stuff, it is still a very enjoyable film. This is certainly a film to watch if your into comedies, silent films, and/or Buster Keaton. Each time I see one of his movies, I wonder how he hasn't become as popular as Chaplin. Elmer (Buster Keaton) is a dry cleaner. He is madly in love with the stage star Trilby Drew. For each of her 35 performances, he "borrows" someone else's tuxedo and races to the theater. When Trilby's co-star boyfriend gets engaged to someone else, she marries Elmer to get even, assuming that Elmer is a millionaire. But she's clearly still in love with her co-star, and her manager makes her leave Elmer, trying to pay him off so the papers don't hear about her marriage to a nobody. Elmer gets tied up in a car chase, and falls in the hands of a few criminals. One night he is thrown overboard, and is rescued by a private yacht. When Elemer sees Trilby there, he trys to win her heart. A lot of the comedic elements were very good, but then there were some repetitious ones that really didn't seem funny at all. Although the film is only 80 minutes long, they could of certainly cut it down. A few of the scenes seemed to drag far behind the rest of the movie. The films original music score is not as good as I would have hoped. It added in sound effects that were definitely not needed, and just didn't fit in with the silent film experience. Despite some of those errors, [i]Spite Marriage [/i]is very enjoyable, and can turn out be laugh out loud funny at times. I loved it when Elmer is given a part in the play. Everything turns for the worse, and of course Elmer messes everything up. Keaton pulls off another great performance, no one else could of done it. This is another film that re-inforces the statement that he is the greatest comedian of the 1920's. Rating: 82/100 Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Keaton is hilarious as always in this movie. If you're a fan of his, you'll love it. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member there are some nice moments in this, keaton's last silent picture, but they're all reminiscent of better, earlier films (sherlock jr., the navigator). mgm's reign of terror is all too evident even in keaton's second picture with the studio. it's still worth seeing because 1) it's silent, 2) there's still recognizable keaton-ness but it's a far cry from something like steamboat bill jr. which was only one year beforehand. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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