Buck Privates

Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lee Bowman, Jane Frazee, Alan Curtis, Nat Pendleton, The Andrews Sisters
Directed by: Arthur Lubin
Rating: Approved
Genre: Comedy, Musical
1941

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Bud and Lou avoid going to jail by accidentally volunteering for the army. Much to their chagrin, they can't get out and are shipped off to boot camp.

Review:

Tim: After completely stealing the show in supporting roles in One Night in the Tropics, Abbott & Costello got top billing for Buck Privates, their second film and first starring gig. This movie was a huge success for the studio and Abbott & Costello became movie stars. While it makes a great story and people obviously ate this movie up, I wasn't as big of a fan as I expected. Sure, the film has some very funny moments, but as a whole, I felt like this was a less complete film than One Night in the Tropics. It's still decent, though.

I struggle a bit after seeing this film to crystallize my thoughts about this comedy duo. In their first film together, I loved them as supporting players and wanted to see more of them. My wish was granted in their second film. They get a lot more screen time, although they still share it with the rest of the cast. I felt like they were positioned oddly in this movie- they have a lot of screen time and they get top billing, but the story wasn't just about them. The script still treated them a bit like a comedy sideshow instead of the main show. We're supposed to invest in the other characters and their love triangle (or something, to be honest I had a hard time investing in the characters and really getting into their stories), but while we've investing in them, we're supposed to stop for these very funny Abbott & Costello exchanges. Their on screen chemistry is incredible and their gags were unforgettable. Unfortunately, in the context of the movie, it created a bit of a disconnected story. There wasn't a lot of momentum because the story kept pausing for the Abbott & Costello show. At times their gags move the plot forward, but too often they're just breaks in the action. The breaks are the highlights of the film, but it makes the other plots seem boring in comparison. I just don't feel like they had figured out how to make it work at this point. To be upfront, this is only the 2nd Abbott & Costello movie I've seen, so I have no idea yet if they figure it out. The format here just feels a little too clunky.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the gags from Abbott & Costello, I've noticed a few things. First off, I'm kind of surprised that I like Costello a lot more than Abbott (I'm talking characters, I have no idea how they were in real life). Costello is a nincompoop, but he's got a kind heart. Abbott comes across as greedy, manipulative, and like the world's worst friend. I wish Abbott were portrayed a little more good natured. There's a very thin line between giving your buddy a hard time and just being a jerk. In this film, I felt like the tone moved too far into the jerk territory.

Another slight issue I had is that the gags started to feel a little similar. If you watch this movie shortly after One Night in the Tropics, the Abbott & Costello exchanges start to feel a little redundant. This movie had a couple of scenes where Abbott took advantage of Costello financially with his fast talk and insane logic. That's funny, but I felt like the film could have used a little more variety. I know these guys made tons of movies together, so I'm hoping they branch out, but for this film, it just felt like they went to the same well once too many times.

I have to admit, I've thought a lot about Buck Privates. The story you hear is that Abbott & Costello stole the limelight in supporting roles in their first film, got the chance to star in a movie and used it to launch their super stardom. I just expected to like this movie a lot more than I did. After a great deal of thought, I have to stick with my guns. This is a decent movie, but not much more.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: One Night in the Tropics