I watched this a while back. Yes, that drunk scene was amazing. Thelma Todd rarely got a chance to do full-on slapstick, but turned out to be a worthy partner to Keaton.
Personally, I could have done without remotely so much of the "look how awful these performers are" gag. It's certainly *possible* to get a lot of mileage out of it (Midsummer's, Act V), but requires writing and acting that are *actually* much more sophisticated than what the "mechanicals" had in this film.
More recently, I saw another Durante/Todd film, Palooka (adapted from the Joe Palooka comic strip). Todd is largely wasted in a single prologue scene where she plays the Bad Girl. Durante was actually pretty funny as a boxing coach who has a heart of gold underneath his relentless dishonesty.
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Personally, I could have done without remotely so much of the "look how awful these performers are" gag. It's certainly *possible* to get a lot of mileage out of it (Midsummer's, Act V), but requires writing and acting that are *actually* much more sophisticated than what the "mechanicals" had in this film.
More recently, I saw another Durante/Todd film, Palooka (adapted from the Joe Palooka comic strip). Todd is largely wasted in a single prologue scene where she plays the Bad Girl. Durante was actually pretty funny as a boxing coach who has a heart of gold underneath his relentless dishonesty.