(Review originally written at 21 December 2006)
This movie is really a piece of comedy excellence.
This movie shows what Laurel & Hardy comedies are all about. A simple premise, slapstick moments, that all provides non-stop laughs.
The premise is incredibly simple. Laurel & Hardy have just bought a fishing boat, which they decide to fix- and clean-up. Of course they end up demolishing more than actually fixing or improving things. Stanley cleans the anchor, by scrubbing and wringing it out and Oliver is trying to close down some holes, by doing so he only creates new and more ones. There are of course dozens of jokes you can come up with, with having the concept of the boys fixing an old boat. But they actually managed to come up with some incredibly original and well executed slapstick moments. At one point Stanley even manges to get his head stuck between the mast and a wall, while his leg is sticking out of the porthole. Of course Oliver also manges to get his clothes and face dirty again due to Stanley's stupidity. Some of the sequences and gags go on for a long time but they in this case do never bore or loose any of its comical power.
The humor is perhaps a tad bit more crueler than normally in Laurel & Hardy movies is the case. The movie features a couple of good old fashioned tit for tat routines. The boys looked like they really got hurt at times and things seemed to got to rough in the heat of the moment. Its cruelness does make the movie a bit different from other Laurel & Hardy movies, which also does make it an original one at the same time.
But its moments are really what makes this movie such a great and hilarious one. It's a great example of how a slapstick movie should be like. It's all perfectly thought out, timed and executed in this movie. It makes the movie fun and hilarious to watch from start till finish and it makes this movie definitely one of the better Laurel & Hardy comedy shorts.
9/10
This movie is really a piece of comedy excellence.
This movie shows what Laurel & Hardy comedies are all about. A simple premise, slapstick moments, that all provides non-stop laughs.
The premise is incredibly simple. Laurel & Hardy have just bought a fishing boat, which they decide to fix- and clean-up. Of course they end up demolishing more than actually fixing or improving things. Stanley cleans the anchor, by scrubbing and wringing it out and Oliver is trying to close down some holes, by doing so he only creates new and more ones. There are of course dozens of jokes you can come up with, with having the concept of the boys fixing an old boat. But they actually managed to come up with some incredibly original and well executed slapstick moments. At one point Stanley even manges to get his head stuck between the mast and a wall, while his leg is sticking out of the porthole. Of course Oliver also manges to get his clothes and face dirty again due to Stanley's stupidity. Some of the sequences and gags go on for a long time but they in this case do never bore or loose any of its comical power.
The humor is perhaps a tad bit more crueler than normally in Laurel & Hardy movies is the case. The movie features a couple of good old fashioned tit for tat routines. The boys looked like they really got hurt at times and things seemed to got to rough in the heat of the moment. Its cruelness does make the movie a bit different from other Laurel & Hardy movies, which also does make it an original one at the same time.
But its moments are really what makes this movie such a great and hilarious one. It's a great example of how a slapstick movie should be like. It's all perfectly thought out, timed and executed in this movie. It makes the movie fun and hilarious to watch from start till finish and it makes this movie definitely one of the better Laurel & Hardy comedy shorts.
9/10
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