Item: Club-House Party
Rating: 7
Author: Archivist John

Is it worth it?

If you like old-timey variety acts and have a soft spot for things that feel like they were filmed in someone’s basement, sure. If you hate anything that doesn't have a clear plot, stay far away.

Club-House Party is less of a "movie" and more of a string of performances held together by Ray Perkins looking at the camera. He’s the MC at a golf club, apparently, though the golf seems like an afterthought.

Roy Smeck is the highlight here. Watching him switch between a guitar and a ukulele is genuinely impressive, even if the audio quality makes it sound like he’s playing inside a tin can. 🎸

The dancing, though? It’s a lot. Pearce and Carthay do their thing, and then we get Ford, Bowie, and Daly tap dancing for what feels like a small eternity. The camera just kind of sits there. It doesn’t do much work, just stares at their feet.

I found myself wondering if anyone in the room was actually having a good time, or if they were just waiting for the cameras to turn off so they could leave. There’s a weird, stiff energy to the whole thing.

It’s a bit like watching Hands Up or other relics of the era where the goal was just to capture movement on film. No one was trying to win an Oscar here.

Kathryn Mayfield sings, and she’s fine, but the transition to the next act is just so abrupt. One minute she’s belting it out, and the next we’re watching guys tap their shoes on a wooden floor.

It reminds me a bit of the random energy you find in The Kid's Last Fight. It’s all about the immediate moment rather than any bigger picture.

Honestly, the whole thing feels like it could have been shot in an afternoon. It’s not deep, it’s not smart, but it’s a weird little window into a world that doesn’t exist anymore.

Notes from the couch: