The Rough House

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Ro K @Kein_indianer Aug 4 Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle directed and acted alongside Buster Keaton in this one. Although Arbuckle is still the bigger name of the two, he is also the main character in this acrobatic comedy. A few years later, Arbuckle's reputation was destroyed by false accusations from a woman who claimed to have been sexually abused by him. Despite later being acquitted, Hollywood canceled Arbuckle. He wasn't as lucky as Johnny Depp who only lost a decade of his career (sorry for my sarcasm). Arbuckle's life ended very sad. For all those who immediately take the alleged victim's side after reading a dramatic story or listening to gossip, I've always said that such people, together with the corresponding media, are just as much to blame as those who make false accusations. They destroy lives, never feel guilty, and rarely receive the punishment they deserve. See more jordan m @RT33422384 05/29/2022 This was pretty exhausting for a 20-minute short. The pace was absolutely frantic, partly from the framerate and the clipping done to restore the movie to watchable quality but they also just did not leave any breathing room between one gag and the next. Several of the action-comedy sequences were ingenious, like when the cook & delivery boy chase each other around a table where Roscoe's legs are in the way. I would've liked to see Jackie Chan remake this or use some of the segments in his movies as a lot of it is right up his alley. I will say that the joke quality kind of faded as the movie progressed and the newness wore off, but it's so brief that I didn't mind too much. See more sean l @RT42433433 08/01/2020 Housekeeping chaos for a well-off homeowner, his small cooking/cleaning staff and a visiting party of refined dinner guests with ulterior motives. As with most slapstick comedies of the day, it only takes a little nudge to transition from a sleepy ho-hum day around the house into a full-blown food fight with smoke in the air and a never-ending parade of head-over-heels pratfalls. This one spirals out of control in a hurry, with Fatty Arbuckle setting the bedroom ablaze before he's had his morning coffee and Buster Keaton flopping flat on his back twice in his first sixty seconds, then snowballs until Arbuckle is gleefully empying a gun into his own kitchen door while Keaton hurls butcher knives at the chef. Honestly, there's very little to The Rough House beyond sight gags and ever-increasing stakes in a high rollers' game of physical one-upsmanship, but it's a riot when it's in the groove. Arbuckle and Keaton's brands of expressive comedy are compatible and complimentary, and their constant efforts to out-goof each other lead to increasingly rich rewards for the viewer. It doesn't mean much of anything, but it's a hilarious way to kill half an hour. See more Read all reviews

The Rough House

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