Homework, Headaches, and Leon Errol

So, you’re looking for something short, weird, and maybe a little dusty to kill twenty minutes? Home Work is probably going to do it for you, assuming you have a soft spot for guys like Leon Errol who look like they’re perpetually one bad memo away from a total nervous breakdown.

Is it a masterpiece? Absolutely not. It’s a flimsy bit of fluff, but it has this weird, frantic energy that makes you wonder why everyone in these old comedies is constantly shouting at their desk. If you can’t stand black-and-white shorts or old-school physical comedy where people just sort of fall over for no reason, stay far, far away. You’ll hate it.

The Office Wizard

Errol plays the guy who knows everything. You know the type. He’s got the answers for the boss, the secretary, and probably the janitor, but the second his kid pulls out a history book, he turns into a total puddle. It’s kind of funny watching him try to maintain his ego while failing at basic arithmetic.

There’s this one scene where he’s trying to juggle a stack of papers and a textbook at the same time, and it goes on just a little too long. It stops being a gag and starts being just… a lot of paper flying around. I laughed, but I also felt exhausted for the guy.

Does it hold up?

Well, sort of. It’s not as sharp as The Bluffer, which really digs into the whole lying-to-your-coworkers-to-look-cool thing. Home Work feels a bit more like a sketch that got left on the cutting room floor, but in a charming way.

• The desk setup looks impossibly cluttered, which I actually kind of loved.
• Barbara Pepper is doing a lot of heavy lifting here with just her facial expressions.
• The pacing is erratic. One minute he’s stressed, the next minute he’s falling off a chair. 🤷‍♂️

It’s not trying to change the world. It’s just trying to get a chuckle out of you before the main feature starts. If you’ve seen All Sealed Up, you’ll recognize that same frantic desperation in the performances. It’s a specific vibe, you know?

Anyway, I probably wouldn’t watch it twice. But for a rainy afternoon? It’s fine. Just don’t expect to learn anything about actual homework.