A Pint and a Headache: Checking out Buddy's Beer Garden

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, you probably only want to watch Buddy's Beer Garden if you have a thing for old, scratchy footage or just want to zone out for a while. If you need a tight plot or big surprises, stay far away. You’ll be bored to tears in the first ten minutes. But, if you like watching people work and listening to the faint hum of a crowd, it’s a neat little time capsule.

The whole thing feels like it was filmed in a backyard on a Tuesday afternoon. There's this persistent, heavy heat that you can almost smell through the screen, mixed with stale beer and pretzels. Buddy is just there, moving steins around, looking tired.

I found myself staring at the background extras more than the main cast. There’s a guy near the back left table who spends the entire scene trying to light a pipe. He fails, gives up, and then just starts aggressively cleaning his glasses with a napkin. It’s incredibly distracting but also kind of the most honest thing in the movie.

Oddly specific observations:

• The sound of the beer hitting the glass is weirdly crisp. It’s definitely louder than it should be.
• Jeane Cowan has this look on her face like she’d rather be literally anywhere else. It’s relatable.
• The shadows under the tables are so dark you can’t tell if there’s a dog under there or just a pile of coats.

It’s not as polished as The Idle Rich, but it has this weird, unpolished charm that makes you feel like an intruder. It doesn’t try to be profound. It just tries to be a beer garden, and mostly, it succeeds at being that.

Sometimes the camera lingers way too long on a tray of empty mugs. I kept waiting for someone to drop one, just to break the silence. Nothing happens. They just sit there. It’s almost aggressive how little happens.

If you’re comparing this to something like Riley the Cop, you’ll notice the total lack of urgency here. Everything is slow. The pacing is less like a movie and more like a long, hot nap in the sun. Don't go in expecting a story. Just go in expecting a beer, even if you can't actually drink it. 🍺