Now here's a Keaton short I can confidently recommend.
In contrast to "The Boat", Buster is not at the mercy of physics here. This time he causes the chaos, and he's aware of it. He spends the duration wriggling his way out of trouble, instead of more deeply into it.
The absurd tone of the whole thing is set by the goofs in what is a sort of anti-"Dear John" letter ("PS If you do not receive this letter, write me").
But what makes this special is the revelation that this is one big slapstick dream. And...all of that is wrapped within another envelope of absurdity, exposed to us in brilliant visual shorthand -- add them up and you have something quite uniquely cinematic.
In contrast to "The Boat", Buster is not at the mercy of physics here. This time he causes the chaos, and he's aware of it. He spends the duration wriggling his way out of trouble, instead of more deeply into it.
The absurd tone of the whole thing is set by the goofs in what is a sort of anti-"Dear John" letter ("PS If you do not receive this letter, write me").
But what makes this special is the revelation that this is one big slapstick dream. And...all of that is wrapped within another envelope of absurdity, exposed to us in brilliant visual shorthand -- add them up and you have something quite uniquely cinematic.