Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)

Buster Keaton's character in this film has been described as a dandy, and as effete. These are the two words I would use to describe him anyway so I don't feel bad about stealing them. An effete young dandy returns home to meet his estranged father, who is the owner of one of two rivaling steamboats along a river. His father, the salty seaman is mortified to find his son standing at 5'5," wearing a beret, oversize pants, and a polka dot bow tie. He works hard to make sure Bill Jr. becomes a tough, fighting man in order to help him best his competing steamboat owner.

Things go askew, however, when it is discovered that while in Boston being educated, Bill Jr. fell in love with the daughter of the enemy. The ultimatum arises: become a man and earn the respect of his father, or follow his heart and run off with the girl of his dreams. Can "Steamboat Bill" Jr. change his ways and become more of a man, or will he crumble to his libido?

It doesn't really matter. Plot is never really the top priority in a Buster Keaton film--Buster Keaton is the top priority, and he delivers as usual. The film started slow, and I wondered if Keaton might have felt stifled as the film was not directed by him. Great master like he and Chaplin liked to direct themselves simply because they knew their limitations and were not hindered by ideas that were less than their genius. I judged too soon, though. Given time, the film shifts into full throttle, delivering heaps of laughs and the amazing physical prowess that Keaton is praised for.

Anyone who knows even a little bit about the star knows of the scene in which Keaton narrowly escapes serious physical harm when the face of a barn falls down, leaving Keaton unharmed as he slips right through the window of the second story. Steamboat Bill Jr. has the famous hurricane scene in which he uses all of the considerable number of acrobatic tricks that had up his sleeves, and then wandering--seemingly without purpose, lands on the mark before the house wall falls. A split second too late, too early, or if he had strayed a step too far to the left and he might have snapped his neck. Buster was known for his balls of steel, and I have to say that I felt faint after seeing that. There just aren't people like him anymore who will sacrifice everything for their films, and I really wish that his name had the staying power that Chaplin's had, because he was fucking amazing.

Beyond his daring stunts and wonderful physical humor, this movie is funny as hell. It's odd to say that the writing is really good in a silent film, but the writing is really good. There are probably only two dozen captioned lines, but nearly all of them were clever and got genuine laughs out of me. Also, his face is just priceless. I love that deadpan expression with those big, droopy eyes that says so much without him even twitching a muscle. As a comedic actor, I would love to know how he does that, because it is something very special.

This is a fast, fun movie, and totally worth the time, if for nothing else than for the amazing final twenty minutes.

3.5/4