Review of A King in New York (1957) by Greg W — 30 Jan 2013

I liked it. It wasn't a great film. It had some moments where Chaplin was quite amusing. Worth watching, especially for me, since I'm very much a fan. Some of the gags don't work, mostly because Chaplin is still thinking 1910-20s and this movie is set in the 1950s. I also wonder if women were ever as he portrays them...

Some of it is prophetic, and amazingly so: energy, media, advertising, plastic surgery, noise, paranoia, etc. He gets so much of it right, and it makes an even better case for him being a genius, even if this film is not great work. Some of the editing is clumsy, which is not at all characteristic of him. That surprised me. I've heard some people say Chaplin stopped being funny after x date. I don't agree. If you like his humor, this is more of the same. His mature work is subtle, political, nuanced, etc. If you want 3 Stooges humor, he isn't really for you.

I'm biased. I love his work, so even though this was a less that spectacular effort, it was another chance to see him do his thing. The fire hose bit was worth the whole film, but I also loved the advertising and plastic surgery gags, The visit to the 'progressive' boys school was both scathing and amusing. How did he see so well into our future?