A Dog's Life

And so my quest continues. Chaplin is no doubt my least favorite actor/director ever, but it's hard to believe he never made something that could at least spark a little joy or admiration in me. I keep giving his films a chance, but no luck so far. A Dog's Life looked at least somewhat promising, but not even a cute dog couldn't save this one.

The problem with Chaplin's films is that it is 90% Chaplin, so if you can't stand his signature Tramp character, there's extremely little left to enjoy. Chaplin's pure slapstick isn't really my thing either. I can appreciate it in combination with stunts (like Keaton did), not so much when it's just physical comedy.

The story is as simple as can be, with Chaplin and his dog slumming while dreaming of wooing girls. He steals some food, tries to sneak in a bar and when his dog finally digs up some money, he has to escape two criminals who want to rob him. That's pretty much it. At least the dog was cute, he deserved a better companion.