There are two giants of silent comedy, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. I have always been a Chaplin fan. I tried out Keaton's The General, but didn't like it at all. So I wasn't very excited going into Sherlock Jr. But this 44 minute movie packs more entertainment into it than a modern two hour movie. I was smiling the entire time. I love watching silent comedies because their timing is always perfect. Each scenario is stretched out to its full potential, but is never drawn out past its limit. To encounter something that's actually just perfect is a rare treat and a real breath of fresh air. Keaton's inventiveness is ceaseless. I would say that the concentration of cleverness in this movie surpasses even Chaplin's best. But what makes Sherlock Jr. really stand out for me is that it's so much more than just a comedy. It's a message.
It seems like the theme at the beginning of the movie--in doing two things at once, you don't do justice to either--sort of loses its meaning in the name of comedy. Chaplin's comedies, on the other hand, flowed around his central theme. The moral center never felt tacked on as an afterthought, which is one reason they are so timeless. This is not to say that Sherlock Jr. isn't timeless, just that its central theme is less powerful. But in leaving its central theme behind, Sherlock Jr. allows itself to explore other themes as well, specifically the relationship the audience has with the movies. What does it mean to be a part of a movie, and what can we learn from the movies? Sometimes we shouldn't do everything they tell us to do. For a movie to end by posing the question that maybe the movies aren't always perfect, that maybe they move too fast or conflict with our feelings of right and wrong; that can only be done by someone with a deep understanding of and a true love for the medium. This movie is a very special gem.IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0015324/