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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
If you have any patience for old-school novelty, Chasing Around is a bizarre little trip. If you demand a coherent plot, stay far away. It’s essentially a showcase for the Tiffany Talking Chimps, and yes, they do exactly what you think they do.
The film starts with some frantic energy that never really lets up. It’s honestly impressive how much furniture these chimps manage to displace in such a short window of time. 🐒
There’s this one sequence where a chimp is wearing a very small, very stiff waistcoat. He keeps tugging at the collar while trying to climb a curtain. It feels like the wardrobe department just gave up halfway through.
The pacing is all over the place. Sometimes the camera just lingers on a bowl of fruit for ten seconds too long. It feels like the editor might have fallen asleep at the desk, or maybe they just really liked the prop design.
It’s not as polished as The Winning of Barbara Worth, that’s for sure. It lacks that grand ambition, but it has this weird, frantic charm that feels more human than most big productions.
I caught myself wondering if the chimp in the red hat actually knew what was happening. Probably not. It creates a weird disconnect where you’re laughing at the absurdity of it all while wondering if it’s cruel or just chaotic.
It definitely reminds me of the pacing in The Devil Horse where things just happen until the reel runs out. No grand themes here. Just monkeys in vests causing trouble. 🍌
Some of the reaction shots are so human it’s almost creepy. I’m not sure I needed to see a chimpanzee look so disappointed in a kitchen setup, yet here we are.
Is it a classic? Absolutely not. Would I watch it again on a Tuesday night when my brain is fried? Maybe. It’s low stakes, high confusion, and somehow that’s exactly what I needed today.