They Go Boom!

Sometimes the simplest of situation comedies work the best, and so it proves with THEY GO BOOM! Essentially, Ollie's suffering from the sniffles and Stan tries to cure him, and that's all there is to it. But what a journey unfolds over the 20 minute running time here! The gags start out on familiar ground before becoming more and more elaborate as they go on, and each of the boys seems to be subjected to endless injury and physical peril. Of course, it all builds to an explosive scenario at the climax that the title hints at, and as usual the sheer amount of stunts, physical destruction and sight gags make it a delight.

They Go Boom! (1929)

*** (out of 4)

Hardy has a cold so it's up to Laurel to try and find a cure so that they can get a good night's sleep. Highlights include the mustard bath and the exploding mattress.

Leave 'Em Laughing (1928)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Laurel is suffering from a toothache so Hardy takes him to the dentist who accidentally fills them with laughing gas. The early gags of Hardy trying to pull the tooth are funny but the ending with the cars goes on a bit too long and gets rather tiresome.

One Good Turn (1931)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

L&H set out to raise $100 when they overhear an elderly woman say she's going to be evicted. Not too many laughs in this one outside the opening sequence in the woods.

Thicker Than Water (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Laurel and Hardy waste $300 on a grandfather clock so Hardy's wife hits him with a frying pan and sends him to the hospital. Again, not too funny and the worst part is the ending where the two change personalities. This here should have been a lot funnier than it turned out.

Laurel and Hardy are simply trying to get a good nice sleep but Mr Hardy has a really bad case of the sniffles and can't get off easily. Laurel just wants to help and tries various remedies including a bath of hot water, a mustard plaster and a water bed. But try as he might things don't seem to be getting any better for Hardy.

A oft repeated theme is used to good effect here – Laurel is simply trying to help Hardy but yet he only manages to make things worse in one way or another. In this film Hardy is a little full of the cold so Laurel tries to help. The routines are pretty funny – my favourite gags are the little running ones rather than the bigger set ups. So, for example, I loved the bath of water constantly getting in the way or the fat that Hardy kept getting hit in the head. The self contained nature of the film and the fact that the plot isn't something that needs a great deal of setting up works in it's favour.

Laurel does well in his wide eyed innocent role but as always Hardy has to carry the majority of the prat falls and does it very well indeed. The support cast have a very small contribution to make and it shows their class that Laurel and Hardy carry almost 100% of the screen time here.

Overall an enjoyable little short that is self contained and all the better for it.

Laurel and Hardy made a ton of comedy shorts so it was inevitable that they'd have a few disappointments. While this film is watchable and mildly amusing in spots, it is certainly not a very good film by their standards. The problem was the script. It was incredibly mundane and unexciting and was later remade in much funnier ways. For example, the same basic plot and landlord (Charlie Hall) return for LAUGHING GRAVY. It wasn't a huge improvement, but adding the dog and allowing some of the action to take place outside really helped to pick up the pace. But with THEY GO BOOM!, it's all contained in their small apartment and the entire movie revolves around two unfunny gags--Ollie overreacting after he gets a cold and Stan mucking up the attempts to alleviate Ollie's sneezing as well as a rather lame joke about over-inflating the air mattress. It's worth seeing, but there are so many better Laurel and Hardy films I recommend this one to devoted fans only.

Perhaps it's because that this movie is probably the Laurel & Hardy short I've seen most in my life that I got sort of tiresome of watching it but I don't find this movie to be the most hilarious or best constructed and executed Laurel & Hardy comedy short around. But you know, when you watch this movie objectively just for what it is, so not necessarily as a part of the Laurel & Hardy shorts alone you have to conclude that this is a pretty entertaining and fun little movie.

The movie its premise is extremely simple and gives both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardsy to let their comical talents shine, since they're basically the only two actors in the movie, except for the last couple of minutes in which Laurel & Hardy regular Charlie Hall, among others, shows up as the landlord.

The comical routines are rather simple but I guess they are effective enough, since they surely amuse. It just isn't the most hilarious or imaginative Laurel & Hardy comedy around but that doesn't of course mean that this movie is bad or not entertaining.

7/10

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