Absorbing Junior: A weird little mess of a short

Is this worth your time?

Honestly, only if you are a completionist for Shemp Howard or have a very specific, weird interest in 1930s short-form comedy. If you’re looking for a tight, well-oiled machine, keep walking. You’ll probably hate this if you don’t have any patience for characters who are just loud and constantly scheming for no good reason.

There is a specific kind of frantic energy in Absorbing Junior that feels like it’s about to fly off the rails every thirty seconds. Henry is such a grade-A jerk, but in that way that makes you wonder if the writers just hated him or if they were trying to make him lovable. Spoiler: It didn’t work.

The Tooth Business

The whole plot hinges on this bizarre idea of pulling a tooth to pay for a horse race bet. It’s so absurd it’s almost admirable. Shemp Howard is doing his usual thing, and man, the guy just inhabits his own weird reality. He doesn't even feel like he’s in the same room as the other actors sometimes.

There is a moment near the middle where the pacing just hits a wall. The scene with the dentist setup goes on for about 45 seconds too long, and you can practically hear the director yelling for them to do something, anything to keep the energy up. It’s awkward, but that's part of the charm, I guess.

• The props look like they were gathered from a dumpster behind a prop house.
• Nobody seems to know where to look when they’re talking.
• The lighting in the kitchen scene is… well, it’s certainly bright.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic, messy vibe you get in Married by the Stork, where the logic is secondary to just getting to the next physical gag. Sometimes they land, sometimes they just kind of hit the floor with a thud.

I found myself staring at the background details more than the actual plot. There’s a calendar on the wall that is clearly wrong for the season, and one of the extras in the back is struggling to keep a straight face for the entire duration of a dialogue heavy bit. That's the real movie, right there.

Is it a masterpiece? No. It’s barely a movie. It’s a collection of people shouting about teeth and horses until the credits roll. But there’s a grit to it, a weird, low-rent desperation that makes it stick in your head long after you’ve clicked away.