Review of Our Wife

Our Wife (1931)
Some inspired falls
27 July 2003
On the day of Hardy's wedding, spirits are high, Laurel even has a bath. However when the bride's father sees a picture of the intended groom he forbids the wedding. Hardy plans to elope with his bride and sends Laurel to get a car. When their plans are exposed it is a race to get to a JP to perform the ceremony.

A lively short that sticks quite closely to it's plot without too much in the way of side plots acting as filler. The main jokes here come from physical work without too much in the way of banter from the duo. This is fine though, as much of it is good. Two major falls in particular are almost inspired – witness Finlayson's falls just after seeing Hardy's photo, culminating in a dive down some stairs, and then Hardy taken down an entire room with one trip.

The plot fizzles out a little towards the end as there is no real physical stuff in the final few minutes and nothing of value really replaces it, however for the majority it is very funny. Laurel and Hardy are good value, although Laurel is in the background a little for this one. Hardy's falls take the focus and he does well indeed. The high point of the film for me was hearing Finlayson `d'oh'ing more than usual – truly the original Homer!

Overall this is an enjoyable short – especially if you like their pratfalls more than their banter.
6 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed