"Man Bites Lovebug" has the outline and plotting of a class Charley Chase short, with ever-more disastrous consequences arising from a fundamentally embarrassing situation -- in this case, Charley's friend has asked him to make his wife jealous so he can show his love, and things get worse from there.
As such it can't help but have it fair share of good laughs, but slapstick-loving director Del Lord doesn't have the ear for this kind of comedy that Chase himself does, and much of the comedy feels slightly mistimed as a result, with pauses for otherwise unnecessary pratfalls.
A bonus here is Chase's very funny burlesque of standard "romance" acting, which is on display through most of the first half, but distasteful over seventy years later is the portrayal of Frank Lackteen as a stereotypically dangerous "Asian" butler.
It ends with a gay-panic joke that also stands out in today's times, as a policeman is puzzled by seeing two men run by in pyjamas in the middle of the night -- and they try to deflect it by repeating the earlier catchphrase of "love in bloom" and sauntering off arm-in-arm.
In all, it's a fairly funny short, but it's a shame the obvious influences of one slapstick comic sensibility prevented Chase's from coming fully to the fore.
As such it can't help but have it fair share of good laughs, but slapstick-loving director Del Lord doesn't have the ear for this kind of comedy that Chase himself does, and much of the comedy feels slightly mistimed as a result, with pauses for otherwise unnecessary pratfalls.
A bonus here is Chase's very funny burlesque of standard "romance" acting, which is on display through most of the first half, but distasteful over seventy years later is the portrayal of Frank Lackteen as a stereotypically dangerous "Asian" butler.
It ends with a gay-panic joke that also stands out in today's times, as a policeman is puzzled by seeing two men run by in pyjamas in the middle of the night -- and they try to deflect it by repeating the earlier catchphrase of "love in bloom" and sauntering off arm-in-arm.
In all, it's a fairly funny short, but it's a shame the obvious influences of one slapstick comic sensibility prevented Chase's from coming fully to the fore.