It's a Gift

Though W.C. Fields was not a man of modest dimensions, his contribution to the comedy genre can be classified as lightweight despite the quality of the jokes. The gags come without a long warm-up, shortly after the comical situation is set up. After that comes another situation, going beyond the permitted limits in making use of Fields’s inability to overcome a banal obstacle. The mindless piling-up of such situations instead of more well-thought-out development is symptomatic of the whole film, a simplified manual on how to diminish slapstick anarchy by putting it in a family setting (the ending brings forth an uncritical affirmation of the very values that the real masters of slapstick humorously dumped on). 50% (10.09.2011)

So I was quite surprised. It was a movie that I had never heard of before, but it was even more enjoyable because of that. It's like the Homolka family in an American version and a few years earlier, but the focus is mostly on the grandfather, who is not as hot-tempered but rather phlegmatic, even though he definitely has his moments that underline the comedy of each situation. A pleasant surprise. (01.08.2014)