drqshadow

8/10

Set in a raucous live theater on a crowded night, _The Play House_ is most impressive as a cinematic playground, one where a shrewd Buster Keaton experiments and toys with the format in his own distinctive fashion. The opening dream sequence is the flashiest bit, and the most ambitious, where Keaton manages to play every role (as many as eight duplicates on-screen at a time) in a wild string of silly comic interactions, costumed audience reactions and precisely choreographed dance numbers. It all looks seamless in practice, better than countless imitators over the ensuing years, and Buster exploits the long scene for all it's worth. The novelty hasn't quite worn off when he abruptly changes gears, awakens the dreaming protagonist and sails headlong into his usual forte: silly physical antics and wacky cases of mistaken identity, with a full supporting cast behind him. It's not unfamiliar thematic territory for Keaton - his 1919 short, _Back Stage_, also took place behind the scenes of a troubled production - but this time the pace is quicker and the laughs are mightier. He shows wide range under the spotlight, leaping from subdued bafflement (upon discovering his love interest has a twin sister who doesn’t care for him) to pure superficial pantomime (impersonating a primate, after the animal talent escapes through a back door) and several stops in-between, rewarding each with delightful resourcefulness and unexpected punchlines. Free-spirited and unrelentingly funny on a surface level, but also admirable from a technical and historical perspective.