Enjoy Yourselves: A Sweet, Dusty Trip to the Countryside

If you're looking for something with a lot of bite or a complex plot, you should probably keep scrolling. Enjoy Yourselves is exactly the kind of movie that reminds me of those old, faded photographs you find in a shoebox at a garage sale. It’s sweet, it’s very polite, and it’s about as dangerous as a glass of lukewarm tea.

Who is this for? People who like old-fashioned black-and-white aesthetics and don't mind a movie that moves at the speed of a gentle stroll. If you’re the type who gets restless when the plot doesn't kick in within five minutes, you will absolutely hate this. It’s not in a hurry to get anywhere, and frankly, I don't think it cares if you arrive.

The whole premise hinges on a music teacher winning some money and deciding that a waitress is the perfect person to spend it on. It’s the kind of logic that only makes sense in movies from this era, but somehow, the actors make it work. The chemistry is... well, it’s polite. Nobody is breaking any furniture, that's for sure.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Enjoy Yourselves (1934) through its definitive frames.

There's a scene near the middle where they’re driving through the country, and the background plate looks like it’s about to fall over. It’s so obviously a fake backdrop, but I couldn't help but smile. It’s got that specific, clunky charm I also found in The Awful Truth, though it’s much less biting. ☕

Sometimes, the movie just stops to let a character look at a tree or a house. I found myself checking my watch, but then I stopped. Why rush? It’s just people being happy in a world that isn't really ours anymore. It reminded me a bit of the lightness in Snookums Disappears, just with more walking around and fewer shenanigans.

Small things I noticed:

• The music teacher's hat is way too small for his head. It’s distracting.
• Every time they order food, it looks like a prop made of painted wood.
• The silence between lines is sometimes long enough to boil an egg.

The film doesn't really try to say anything deep about human nature. It just wants you to enjoy the ride, which is fair enough. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a nice enough way to kill an hour if you want to turn your brain off and just watch people wear nice coats.

I left the screen feeling like I’d just finished a long, slightly repetitive conversation with an old relative. It’s nice, it’s well-meaning, and I probably won’t think about it tomorrow. But for today? It did the trick. Sometimes, that’s all you really need. 🎞️