Keaton and Arbuckle traipse around Brooklyn's little coastal amusement park, feuding over the affections of a flighty young female. In the process of exploring the grounds, they repeat many bits from preceding collaborations - Fatty batting his eyelashes whilst in drag, Buster weightlessly tumbling over obvious obstacles, both men exchanging food projectiles and kicks to the seat of their pants - but the spotlight share has shifted. Rather than a young hopeful, guest-starring on a much larger celebrity's turf, Coney Island features a more balanced partnership. Keaton actually gets a slim majority of the screen time and his role is definitely the more sympathetic of the two. He's coming into his own as a comedian, refining and improving his act with every appearance. No wonder Arbuckle kept casting him.
It's interesting to see the theme park in action, too, charming and delighting the olde-timey crowd with an assortment of thrill rides that wouldn't pass inspection today. Of course, the starring duo exploits this opportunity for all it's worth, misusing the rides until they spectacularly fail, so maybe I've let that cloud my judgement just a little bit. A curious film in that sense, possibly moreso to anyone with a personal connection to the island, but a bit on the shallow end in terms of story and fresh humor.
It's interesting to see the theme park in action, too, charming and delighting the olde-timey crowd with an assortment of thrill rides that wouldn't pass inspection today. Of course, the starring duo exploits this opportunity for all it's worth, misusing the rides until they spectacularly fail, so maybe I've let that cloud my judgement just a little bit. A curious film in that sense, possibly moreso to anyone with a personal connection to the island, but a bit on the shallow end in terms of story and fresh humor.