"Rough on Rents" is the first I've seen from the long and successful series of "Average Man" comedies that Edgar Kennedy starred in for RKO. I was much more familiar with Kennedy as a foil for other comedians such as Laurel and Hardy, and while he holds up fine as a protagonist, it still seems to me that his real strength was as a frustrated second banana.
This definitely feels like an entry in a series, there's a slight by-numbers atmosphere to it, and we are thrust into events very quickly, already expected to be familiar with Edgar, his family, and his living situation. The events, catalyzed by Edgar's quickly letting his apartment after losing money in a race, are the main source of comedy here, but they happen so quickly and with so little set-up in many cases that they aren't really milked for their potential. Still, it's fairly fun viewing and there are some amusing moments. One gag -- "Do you want that button?" -- had been used a lot better in a Charley Chase short from five years earlier, "The Wrong Miss Wright." I could see the final gag coming a mile away.
This is comfortable, plain comedy. Nothing really wrong with it, but it doesn't live up to the potential latent in the presence of Edgar Kennedy and a scenario like it has.
