Michael's Movie Grade:A+
Review: Incredible movie.
This was Buster Keaton's last film as an independent filmmaker. His films were getting too expensive and he was losing money. It seemed like the way to continue making films was to go to a big studio. After this film he went to MGM, which did not allow him as much creative control as he wanted. Many film buffs accuse MGM of ruining Buster Keaton's career, Steamboat Bill Jr. was an incredible way of ending his amazing career as an independent film maker, because it is an such an amazing movie.
Naturally with this being a Buster Keaton film one of the best things about it is the humor. This film features many laugh out loud moments. The scene with the dad trying to find his son at the train stop, the trying on hats sequence and the jail sequence are just a few of the bits from this movie that are pure comedy gold.
However there is even more to recommend here. The relationship between the father and son is handled fantastically. It is very charming and even somewhat touching. The father really cares about his son, but is still very disappointed that his son is what he considers a weakling. None of his disappointment of his son, ever makes us think even for a second that he doesn't care about him. The son while being very different from his father in way looks up to and admires him. Because of this the scene in which the father breaks the ukulele is surprisingly sad.
What most people talk about when it comes to this film is the climax with the wind storm. This is very understandable as this scene is absolutely incredible. With all that can be done with special effects, this sequence has probably never been topped. It is breathtaking to just look at this scene. It seems real (in fact the methods for the scene were the house falls down were so real the cameraman didn't even look), but it is still funny. This is the type of sequence that reminds you just why we have movies.
By the way if you can ever see this movie in a theater with live musical accompaniment, like I did (childish bragging, neener neener neener), you have to, it is an incredible experience.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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