Girl Grief: A Headache or a Hoot?

Is it worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for 1930s slapstick and guys looking perpetually confused, Girl Grief is a harmless way to kill twenty minutes. If the idea of a nervous man fainting at the sight of a teenager makes you roll your eyes, skip it. This one is strictly for the completionists of the era.

Charley Chase plays the kind of character who is basically a walking panic attack. The whole premise hinges on his intense fear of girls, which is played for laughs in that loud, aggressive way they did back then.

It’s weirdly specific, isn't it? Like, he doesn't just dislike them; he acts like they're holding live grenades. It's a lot.

The classroom dynamic

The girls' school setting is pure chaos. There’s a scene near the middle where the students just decide to overwhelm him, and the frame gets so crowded I honestly lost track of who was doing what. It feels less like a classroom and more like a playground riot.

Paulette Goddard is in this, which is always a nice surprise. She manages to hold her own even when the script is clearly just trying to get to the next pratfall. She’s the only one actually acting here.

A few random notes

• That one hallway shot goes on for way too long. The silence between the jokes is... painful.
• The prop closet must have been raided five minutes before filming.
• There is a distinct lack of logic to how he keeps his job for more than three seconds.

Honestly, it reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Alice's Orphan, though without the same level of charm. It’s definitely less cohesive than The Kiss, which knew exactly when to quit while it was ahead.

There's a moment where Charley trips over his own feet that is genuinely impressive, though. The man knew how to fall. Gravity was his best co-star.

Don't look for a deep plot here. You won't find one. It’s just a series of awkward encounters strung together by a guy who really, really needs a different career path. 🏫