Summary
When the domestic oversight of his wife Min vanishes during her trip to the country, Andy Gump decides to reclaim his bachelor vigor through a series of increasingly disastrous social excursions. What begins as a refined attempt to 'sport' in the park devolves into a nightmare of physical humiliation after Andy attempts to rescue a girl caught in a tree during a high-stakes game of pushball. His reward for this act of clumsy gallantry is the wrath of a muscular trainer and a literal bruising from a giant ball that chases him across the landscape like a precursor to Indiana Jones’ boulder. The chaos intensifies when a grooming mishap involving hair restorer leaves Andy with a sudden, uncontrollable beard, forcing him into a desperate masquerade within a ladies' Turkish bath. The film culminates in a frantic sequence of gender-bending disguises and mistaken identities, as Andy tries to navigate the predatory advances of his rival and the jealous rage of a local policewoman's partner.
Synopsis
With his wife in the country, Andy gets polished up and goes out sporting. A flock of girls are playing pushball. One of them gets caught on a limb. Gump cuts her down and she falls for him, making the husky trainer jealous, but the girl won't let him punch Gump. The ball rolls down a hill, Gump fleeing before it. The ball bumps him all over the landscape and he arrives home battered and torn. He shaves again and uses hair restorer on his face instead of shaving lotion, causing a heavy beard to grow. In front of a ladies' Turkish bath establishment he sees the husky trainer and ducks into the bath parlors, hiding in the steam cabinet. In trying to escape he is discovered, but he disguises as a woman taking off the beard with hair remover, and is put through various grilling treatments by a woman attendant. Finally escaping to the street, he is followed by the husky trainer, but asks a policeman to protect him from the "masher." The cop escorts him a short distance when the brawny sweetheart of the policemen, mad with jealousy steps out of a doorway, beats up her rival whose wig falls off revealing Gump to the trainer who puts him to rout.
Review Excerpt
"Is this film worth watching today? Short answer: only if you are a dedicated student of silent slapstick or a fan of 1920s newspaper comics, as the frantic energy often outpaces the actual humor. This film is specifically for those who enjoy the 'comedy of errors' trope taken to its most illogical extreme, but it is certainly NOT for viewers who require narrative logic or high-brow wit.The Verdict on Min's AwayThis film works because it captures the unhinged, surrealist spirit of early 20th-cent..."
