This is by no means the best full length Laurel & Hardy picture but there is still plenty to enjoy here. Many people have issues with this movie but there basically is very little wrong with the movie itself. Therefor this movie is perhaps a bit too under-appreciated by most.
It's not the funniest Laurel & Hardy movie but at least its story is enjoyable enough and has plenty of entertainment value in it. Of course Laurel & Hardy were already over their top in 1938 but there were some moments in this movie which reminded me of their glory days, from back in the late '20's till the mid-'30's. I'm talking about the moments when the boys are drilling holes in the floor, when they have to do the dishes and when they have to push a piano across a canyon. The movie is filled with moments which reminded me of their best years, that were unfortunately already behind them when they made this movie. The movie has some memorable moments in it and the movie is consistent enough to consider this movie a watchable as well as a very enjoyable one, that unfortunately can not conceal that the two boys already had their best years behind them though.
I never really understood why long Laurel & Hardy movies always also had a serious subplot-line it, which always involved serious characters played by actors why play their roles in a non-comical way. The entire love story of the movie with the more serious characters certainly does no good to the movie its entertainment value or pace. Surely the movie would had been better if more characters and subplots were erased from the script. I mean when you already have 2 characters such as Laurel and Hardy, you just don't need no other characters who play a just as prominent role in the movie as the two boys. It only works distracting, since we never really get to care about any of those characters and are only interested in the faith, antics and silly situations the two boys get themselves into.
A not entirely successful- but still a very enjoyable late Laurel & Hardy picture that deserves some more credit.
7/10
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