Sherlock Jr.

Starring: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, Erwin Connelly, Ward Crane
Directed by: Buster Keaton
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
1924

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Buster Keaton) wants to be a great detective, and may get his chance when a mystery surfaces involving the woman he loves.

Review:

Tim: Sherlock Jr. is an interesting movie. It furthers my belief that Buster Keaton was an absolute genius, although I didn't think this film had the same powerful impact that a film like The General had. This is a very good movie, but not quite among Keaton's best.

The story felt a bit weak and occasionally non-existent. I get the lovelorn projectionist and his desire to woo the woman of his dreams. We have a rival suitor, a mystery involving a stolen pocketwatch, and finally a pretty extensive dream sequence. While there are some terrific moments in each of these areas, the movie as a whole never felt all that connected to me. This disjointed quality caused me to lose interest in the characters and the story. Instead of building momentum as the film went on, the ineffective writing caused me to lose interest.

Now, while the story suffers in certain aspects, Buster Keaton give us some of the most terrific scenes I've ever seen. The highlight for me was perhaps during the dream sequence when Keaton climbs into the movie. This featured some pretty amazing special effects, and I marvel at the effort it took to pull this off in 1924. I loved this scene and it drew me into the film- where I almost believed Keaton found himself trapped in a movie. This scene was pretty incredible. There's also an amazing sequence where Keaton jumps out of a window, into a dress, and stands up as if he's an old woman. I probably watched the scene a dozen times. A few moments later, we have one of the most jaw-droppingly cool scenes in the film. Keaton appears to jump into a suitcase held by a man, and disappears into it. The explanation for how the scene was pulled off is fascinating, but these scene was just terrific to see. That's what I think about when I consider Sherlock Jr.- a lot of incredible moments, but not much holding them all together (and I'm not even mentioning the scene on the railroad tracks with the water that fractured Keaton's neck). There's so many amazing scenes in this film.

Sherlock Jr. is absolutely worth watching for these unforgettable, extremely cool moments. I just love Keaton so much, and I'd watch him in anything. This movie features such classic moments that separate it from a film like College, but did not have a powerful story like The General to really invest in. Still, this is a solid movie, and one that is very fun to watch. I highly recommend it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The General, College