Review of Free and Easy (1930) by Matthew O — 30 Jun 2014

Free and Easy is probably one of the most depressing movies I've ever watched, and not because of the film itself, but because of all the missed opportunity. In Buster Keaton's first talkie there's little to no slapstick.

Yeah, one of the best slapstick artists in history has a movie with none of the craft. Even with some great scenarios, like a train and several movie sets, no one gives him any good gags. Buster wasn't just slapstick though, he also had a lot of other good qualities too, so maybe those will rise here.

Nope, each attempted joke falls flat, and sometimes it seems like it's not even a comedy. The lack of Buster's energetic tone doesn't help either, the whole thing's just boring. As you might have noticed, Buster Keaton's talents are very underused here, along with the man himself.

Most the time it seems like they're trying to keep him out of his own movie, then we're left with some truly boring and annoying characters. Our female protagonist is wishy washy and honestly doesn't do anything in the plot, and her mother is loud and irritating, not the cast you'd want to stay with for about 90 minutes.

The other male protagonist is just as bad, and pretty darn generic, I honestly can't think of anything to say about him except he's the typical jerk in these films. Overall Free and Easy is a dreadful experience, and is made even worse by a terrible misuse of Buster Keaton.

The only good thing I can say about it is the title musical number isn't that bad, but it's at the end and is rather short. Just go watch a good Keaton picture like The General, Steamboat Bill Jr.

, or The Navigator, and avoid this one at all costs.