Dad's Choice Review: Edward Everett Horton is the King of Nervous Energy

I think if you enjoy watching a man slowly dissolve into a puddle of anxiety, you should probably watch this today.

It is a short one, so it won't kill your afternoon if you end up hating it. 🎩

Edward Everett Horton is the main draw here, playing Eddie, and he is just... doing that thing he always does. You know the one.

He blinks a lot. He looks like he just remembered he left the stove on in a house he sold three years ago.

People who like fast-talking modern humor will probably find this a bit slow, even for a short. It is very physical.

The plot is basically every sitcom ever made before sitcoms were even a thing. Eddie wants the girl, but the dad (played by Otis Harlan) is a human wall of no.

Otis Harlan has these eyebrows that look like they want to crawl off his face and attack someone. He is perfect for this.

There is a scene where Eddie is trying to be polite and the dad is just staring at him. It goes on for a long time.

It actually reminded me a bit of the tension in The Best People, but with more hat-fiddling.

Horton has this way of holding his hat like it is his only friend in the world. I found myself focusing more on the hat than the dialogue cards sometimes.

The sets are very... 1928. Everything looks like it would shatter if you sneezed too hard. ☕

I noticed a weird thing in the background during the living room scene. One of the vases looks like it is about to fall over the entire time.

I spent five minutes just waiting for it to drop. It never did. That is the kind of suspense I live for, apparently.

The girl, played by Sharon Lynn, is fine, I guess. She doesn't have much to do except look worried and point at things.

She has to convince her dad to even let Eddie in the front door. The way she does it is basically by being very annoying until he gives up.

It is a relatable strategy. I used it to get my first bike. 🚲

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Dad's Choice (1928) through its definitive frames.

The movie is way better than something like Daily Dozens, which feels more like a chore to sit through. This at least has a soul.

There is this moment where Eddie tries to sit down and he keeps missing the chair slightly. It is such a small bit of physical comedy, but Horton makes it feel real.

I laughed once, out loud, which is more than I can say for Reno or Bust.

I think the writers, Thomas J. Crizer and Nicholas T. Barrows, knew they were working with a thin story. They just let the actors do their thing.

One of the title cards has a typo in it, I think. Or maybe that is just how they spelled things back then. Who knows.

The lighting in the father's house is weirdly dark in the corners. It makes it feel like a horror movie for a second, especially when the dad is lurking by the door. 🤨

If you've seen Seven Sinners, you know that these older films can sometimes get a bit weird with their pacing. This one stays pretty focused, though.

I did feel like the ending was rushed. Like, they ran out of film or the sun was going down and they just decided to stop.

One minute they are arguing, and the next, it is just... over. Poof.

It is not a masterpiece. It is barely a movie. But it is a good time-waster if you like seeing the early days of the "nervous guy" archetype.

I keep thinking about that vase. I really wanted it to break.

Also, Josephine Crowell is in this, but she doesn't get enough screen time. She has a great face for silent film. Very expressive.

If you hate old silent shorts where people over-act with their hands, stay far away from this. It is 90% hand gestures.

But for the rest of us? It's a nice little slice of history that doesn't try to be more than it is.

I'd put it on par with something like The Last Straw in terms of just being a solid, middle-of-the-road comedy.

Anyway, go watch it if you want to see a man sweat through his suit while an old man glares at him. We have all been there.