Review of Sherlock Jr. (1924) by Lily R — 26 Sep 2009

At just under forty-five minutes, the length of Sherlock Jr. might fool you into thinking this is a minor work in Buster Keaton's career; instead, I found it to be one of his funniest and best works.

The story of a projectionist who dabbles in detective work, Sherlock Jr. has a plot - more or less, Keaton gets accused of a theft he didn't commit, then dreams of solving the crime - but really, it's just an excuse to hang a collection of scenes on.

But when the scenes are this brilliant, this clever, and this laugh-out-loud funny, who cares? Keaton's stony face and lack of reaction makes the gags even funnier, but there's no denying the jaw-dropping nature of some of what you see.

Sure, everyone talks about the scene where Keaton enters the world of the film and is tossed around like Daffy in Duck Amuck, and with just reason - it's hilarious and brilliantly staged, and I can't even imagine how much work went into it.

But how can you not talk about the billiards scene? Or the dive through a window? Or that hilarious final shot? Sherlock Jr. is pretty much flawless in every way, and I can't recommend it enough. It's free on Google Video, people! What are you waiting for?