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5.6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Goofy Movies Number Three remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you're the type of person who digs through bargain bins at antique stores just to see what weird trash people used to watch, you'll probably get a kick out of this. If you need a movie to actually make sense or follow a story, steer clear. It’s a mess, but a fun, short mess.
The whole thing feels like someone decided to throw a party for people who were already bored in 1930. It jumps from a fake newsreel to a silent movie that has absolutely nothing to do with the narrator’s voiceover. It’s like watching two different televisions at the same time, but somehow, it kind of works.
The final part, where they go to 'Schnozzle Isle,' is the highlight for me. It’s a spoof of those old travel shows, and honestly, the island really does look like Jimmy Durante's nose from the air. I kept waiting for them to acknowledge how silly the premise was, but they just kept talking as if this were a serious geography lesson.
It’s nowhere near as polished as The Way of All Pants, which had a bit more of a comedic rhythm. Here, the jokes are just thrown at the screen to see what sticks. Sometimes they stick, sometimes they just slide off into the void of the film reel.
It’s definitely not as dry as A Woman of No Importance, but it shares that same feeling of being a relic from a time when movies were just experiments. You can tell they were trying to invent a new kind of comedy, even if it feels a bit clunky by today's standards. Watching it feels like finding a dusty scrapbook in an attic. You don't know who half these people are, but you can't look away from the weird faces they're pulling.
It's barely a movie, really. It’s more of a vibe. Don't go in expecting structure. Just enjoy the chaos of the narrator talking over footage that clearly wasn't filmed for his story. That disconnect is the best part. 📽️
