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% (09/10/2011)

I was kind of just staring during the film. It’s a film I've never heard of in my life, but that made it even more enjoyable. It's like an American version of the Homolka family, but taking place a few years earlier, focusing more on the grandfather, who isn't as choleric but rather phlegmatic, though he definitely has his moments that highlight the comedy of the situations. This was unexpectedly awesome. (08/01/2014)