... and the sexist drivel is not what you'd expect from a 1926 film, as it makes all men look stupid and the women wise.
A. B. (Leatrice Joy) is the assistant to the owner of a paint company, T. M. Bancroft. AB is really the brains behind the operation, and the brawn for that matter. TM just wants to play and read about golf all day. His ineffective board of directors doesn't seem to be very useful either. AB dresses mannishly - She wears dresses but from the waist up they appear like a man's suit with vest and tie. Her haircut is very short and she uses no makeup.
TM's gout acting up makes it necessary for everybody to go to his Connecticut estate to conduct business. "Grandma" - TM's wife - takes one look at AB and sees a project. She gives AB lessons in how to make herself up, lets her borrow a couple of dresses, and tells her that men only want to hear two lines - "Aren't you wonderful!" and "Do go on!". This sounds ridiculous, but it works on all of the men at the estate. Furthermore, it works particularly well on Grandma's grandson, Jimmie (Tom Moore). The whole reason Jimmie is at their home? AB, whom he hasn't even met, has fired him by phone from his grandfather's business, and he's there to complain to TM. Complications ensue.
There is some original stuff here that works exceedingly well, like Snitz Edwards as a fellow employee of AB's who thinks she's lost her mind with the sudden feminine makeover. Just looking at him made me laugh. And then there's some stuff that is just plain ponderous - Like how grandma has dressed AB up like Little Bo Peep rather in the fashions of the day, and yet the men seem to like this strange get-up. Then there is grandma herself. She is supposed to be Tom Moore's grandmother and yet he looks about 35 and she looks about 50. In fact the actress who played grandma is only six years older than Moore. I know people married young in those days, but really!
Finally that AB would fall head over heels for Jimmie when she is so accomplished is just not very believable. This guy is just not that bright and AB saves the day for him at every turn. I can tell you from sad experience that saving the day every day of your life gets old in a hurry.
Still this is a very interesting silent comedy with some actors who aren't that well known today, and this film showcases them quite well.
