"I Love You, Man" review turns into a short rant on Buster Keaton

"I Love You, Man" review turns into a short rant on Buster Keaton
by Langdon Auger

In the middle of trying to write a humorous review for I Love You, Man I came to two conclusions. First, I can’t make a review that is any funnier than that movie. Go see it. You’ll be telling everyone you “slap da’ bass” for the next several weeks.

Second, I have a more pressing desire to push a personal favorite director of mine. Through a fortunate series of events I found myself hitting the Buster Keaton section of my Netflix Queue just as I started reading a biography of the silent film director called Tempest in a Pork Pie Hat. (I had to justify the book to myself as legitimate research for my dissertation topic. I live a lie.)

Buster Keaton was one of the most famous silent comedians, along with Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. He got his start working with comedian Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle who was most famous for his girth, his mugging for the camera, his flair for visual gags, and his lurid murder trial that subsequently ruined his career. Keaton was the sidekick turned star and was famous for his flat hat, his stone faced stare, and his extreme athleticism. For those of you who are Jackie Chan fans (like me), he references Buster Keaton as one of his main influences. So the frenetic and often times humorous action sequences from Rumble in the Bronx have their origin in these early shorts and features.

Perhaps his best movie is The General. While other comedians made their name with their slapstick, Keaton was famous for having more emotional driven comedies. This film flopped as a result but it is now regarded as his best. It has some death defying sequences on a moving train, performed without any safety precautions whatsoever. Keaton famously told his cameramen “keep filming unless I die.” I watched this in a college classroom and modern day action-film-inspired students were gasping in awe at some of the stunts.

Also check out Sherlock Jr. if you want to see some camera trickery that predates blue screen or advanced editing techniques. Keaton was quite the innovator.

Anyone remember the episode of Arrested Development where Buster is trying to get out of the army and he jumps on front of the model house as it crashes down around him? Keaton performed the stunt with a fully built house in Steamboat Bill, Jr. He had two inches of clearance protecting him from certain death.

So put some of his movies on your queue, you won’t regret it.

-LA