The Idle Class

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Audience Member The doppelgänger plot is interesting and good gags are far from absent, however "The Idle Class" - a little lean despite its length - doesn't live up to Chaplin's standards and, as one of his last shorts, pales in comparison to his streak of all-time-great feature films that began that same year with "The Kid". Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member With any Chaplin short film, I rate it based on how hard I'm laughing and for how long. His five star work is in his features, but his shorts are rather easy entertainment. I didn't quite understand Idle Class' use of dopplegangers, besides that being a device Chaplin used to show off his versatility through multiple roles. Despite being illogical, never reaching a purpose until the denouement, Idle Class features brilliantly hilarious setups and payoffs that just go to show Chaplin was a guy who got it. His humor is extremely conscious of human sufferings, and his pestilent Tramp character prods the funny bone through counter antagonism and absurdity. He does things that sometimes we wish we would do, sometimes not - the Tramp is both relatable and unrelatable. There's a moment Chaplin's elitist character appears to be crying hysterically beside a picture of his wife, who continually leaves letters asking him to choose her or alcohol... but when Chaplin turns around, he hasn't been shaking with grief, but shaking a cocktail in a mixer! A joke like this only works in silent cinema, where the lack of sound effects hide the reality. Along with this, Chaplin has Prokofiev perfection in his own scoring, a remarkable achievement for a craftsman who works every aspect of his films. Whether the notes are pure intuition, or a highly intellectual chess game of strategic maneuvers, the effect is instrumental (no pun intended) in telling the story, offering tonal cues for the audience to gauge the level of emotion in any given moment. I don't know his starting point - maybe it's the writing, but I'd guess it's his physicality, what he wishes to wow us with. His work on the golf swing is pure physical comedy genius, the likes of which would inspire Art Carney and Michael Richards. And he always creates illusions that beg the viewer to ask: how'd he do it? Such an example is a drunk man who seems to endlessly spit out golf balls - if there's a cut between each, I can't see it. Chaplin is ever the illusionist, and leaves the viewer satisfied with the results of his tireless work ethic. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member For a movie that's 99 years old, the humor is stunningly timeless. Chaplin's dual roles as the drunk husband and "the tramp" exemplify his physical comedy genius, even if the movie itself probably added to the stigmatization of alcohol in the 1920's Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review sean l Twin billing for Charlie Chaplin in this delightful case of mistaken identity. Charlie plays both an upper-class husband, slave to alcohol, and the more familiar role of a dusty, scrappy, opportunistic tramp who merely goes with the flow, stumbling wherever the wind may blow. There's a mix-up, a confused wife, an irate father, fisticuffs at a costume party - simplistic stuff - but the star's effortless charisma, elaborate attention to detail and smooth physical charms lift it to another level. When he's on a roll, I could spend hours watching Chaplin riff on everyday life, and in that sense The Idle Class represents a creative peak. He's irresistible in this picture; shrewdly thieving clubs on the golf course, craftily dodging the law at a ritzy banquet, sneaking rides on trains and cars; floating into trouble and then floating right back out again, largely unscathed. His physical comedy is a riot, continuously inventive, with deep, genuine belly laughs at every turn. It's marvelous. While obvious concerns over classism linger on the fringe (this was the onset of the roaring twenties, after all), Chaplin lets those simmer in the viewer's mind rather than addressing them too head-on. The snooty, wealthy types are justifiably lampooned, the point is made, no need to harp on at the expense of the light-hearted laughs that are flowing so freely. An instant favorite. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the Chaplin's best. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Basic story but goes well with a TV Dinner after a long day at work. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Idle Class

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