Sherlock Jr.

SHERLOCK JR. stars Buster Keaton as an aspiring detective who also manages the local movie theater's projector. At the opening of the film, we are warned by a title card that attempting to juggle two things at once never ends up well. Keaton's serious man is in love, and when he goes to his love interest's house to court her, he is framed for stealing a watch by the town bully. Keaton mopes back to his movie theater to work after being told by his girl that she never wants to see him again. He falls asleep at the projector, and in a scene that probably inspired Woody Allen's PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO half a century later, Keaton literally walks into the film. There is a similar predicament in the film's world: a pearl necklace has been stolen. But in the world of movies, Keaton's serious man is no mere aspiring detective, but the best in the world: Sherlock Jr. He comes to the house where a similar bully has stolen the pearls, but now he has finesse, and in a series of hilarious, witty, ingenious scenes, Sherlock Jr. figures everything out inexplicably. This is all followed by a chase scene, and as Sherlock Jr. solves the case, we see the mirrored world of what went wrong in reality beside what wen right in the film. Keaton's serious man finally awakens from his sleep, and awakes to a wonderful surprise in time to give one last joke to the audience. The comedy within SHERLOCK JR. is wonderful and inspired, but I would argue that it is not Keaton's finest film, as some tend to argue, for it is a little too convenient. It's still a great film, but not the greatest.

Sherlock Jr.: ★★★1/2