Gymnastics: A strange little time capsule of sweat and bars

Wait, what did I just watch?

If you're looking for a plot, look elsewhere. This isn't exactly The Phantom Empire. It’s a breezy, odd little look at guys in very short shorts doing stuff on a horizontal bar.

Is it worth your time? Only if you’re a fan of vintage sports clips or just want something playing in the background while you fold laundry. If you hate anything that doesn't have a dialogue-heavy script, skip it.

The Pete Smith factor

You’ve got Pete Smith narrating, and he’s doing his usual thing. It’s that fast, punchy, slightly condescending voice that makes everything sound like a joke. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s just loud.

He really tries to sell the intensity of these swings. At one point, I swear he’s just narrating the physics of gravity.

A very specific kind of boredom

The whole thing feels like a relic. There’s a strange charm to the grainy film stock. You see these guys launching themselves into the air with absolutely no padding underneath. It’s terrifying, honestly.

Compared to the sheer chaos of The Big Game Hunter, this is surprisingly tame. It’s just repetitive motion and upbeat music. It feels like it belongs on a shelf next to Nifty Numbers in some forgotten archival box.

• The shorts are honestly impressive, if only for the lack of safety equipment.
• The music is that classic, frantic big band stuff that never seems to stop.
• Everything is super repetitive. I think I watched the same backflip three times from different angles.

It’s not trying to be high art. It’s just trying to fill ten minutes of screen time. I’m not sure who exactly this was for back in the day, but here we are, still watching it in the future. 🤸‍♂️