Gobs of Trouble: A loud reminder why some folks should just stay at sea

Is it worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for dusty, black-and-white slapstick where everyone screams at each other for no reason, you might get a kick out of Gobs of Trouble. If you value your peace and quiet, or prefer comedy that actually lands a punchline, you should probably skip it. It’s definitely not for anyone who gets annoyed by characters who make the same bad decision every five minutes.

The whole premise is just two sailors getting hitched. It starts out fine, I guess, if you like that old-timey cheerfulness. But then the honeymoon phase evaporates faster than water in a hot skillet. ⚓

Charles Phillips and Tom Kennedy spend most of the runtime looking like they want to jump back into the ocean. There is this one scene where they are just standing in a kitchen, and the way they look at a burnt piece of toast is somehow more expressive than any of the dialogue. It’s weirdly sad.

Honestly, the pacing is all over the place. One minute we’re in a domestic argument, the next we’re in some chaotic chase that feels like it wandered in from The Bride's Relations. It’s dizzying, and not in a fun way.

Small things I noticed

• The background extras in the street scenes have absolutely no idea what they’re doing. One guy in a hat just stares directly into the camera lens for a solid ten seconds.
• The sound mixing is a disaster. Sometimes the voices sound like they are coming from inside a tin can.
• Bud Jamison shows up and immediately makes the movie 10% more watchable just by being there.

There is this moment where the door slams so hard that the whole wall clearly shakes. You can see the wallpaper buckle. Nobody bothered to fix it, they just kept the take. It’s honestly my favorite part of the whole film.

It’s not as tight as That Goes Double, which had a bit more rhythm to its madness. Here, the jokes just sort of fall out of the characters' mouths. It’s like watching a group of people try to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing. 🤷‍♂️

I wouldn't call this a masterpiece or anything. It’s just a relic. It exists. Sometimes that’s enough, I suppose.

If you like watching people suffer through bad life choices, you’ll be right at home. I’m just going to go watch something a bit quieter now.