drqshadow

6/10

A pair of dirt-poor farmhands make the best of a dire living situation, cooperating to make their single-room home feel a bit more welcoming, then competing for the affections of the farmer's lovely young daughter. The opening scenes, at least, are must-see material. There we find the starring duo at home, coolly operating an absurdly complicated series of strings, levers and hinges to transform their living space from bedroom to dining room, kitchen to parlor and back again. It's a ruse worthy of Rube Goldberg, an ingenious series of delightful inventions and space-saving techniques, and these guys operate the room like a pair of well-versed mechanics. The scene soon shifts, however, and when the leads cease their partnership in favor of romantic rivalry, everything starts to feel just a bit too familiar. Not to mince words: it becomes a Keaton and Arbuckle film with a lesser act standing in for the departed bigger man. These scenes are effectively light and entertaining, but they feel like a step back for Keaton; a brief yearning for familiar territory when he'd already transcended the two-man act as a viable solo artist. Arbuckle's famous dog Luke even pops in for a few scenes, climbing ladders and chasing Buster over rooftops like the good old days, but it all rings rather hollow now. The old adage is true in many senses: you really can never go home again.