Mickey's Strategy: A Quirky Blast from the Past 🕰️

Alright, so 'Mickey's Strategy' isn't gonna change your life. It’s not some hidden masterpiece waiting for rediscovery. But if you’re into digging up those old, slightly dusty comedies, especially ones with a young Mickey Rooney just being *Mickey Rooney*, then yeah, this one’s kinda worth a peek. Folks who appreciate simple, almost naive storytelling will find some charm here. Anyone expecting high-budget polish or modern comedic timing will probably want to skip it. It's a specific taste, for sure. 🤷‍♀️

The whole thing hinges on this kid, Mickey (Rooney), trying to pull off some grand scheme. You know, a strategy. His *strategy*. It’s never quite clear what the ultimate goal is, not really. It feels like he just loves the *idea* of having a plan. Like, the planning itself is the fun part, and the execution is just… a formality.

There's this scene early on where he's trying to get everyone to sign a petition. It's for something utterly inconsequential, but he treats it like a matter of national importance. His earnestness is actually pretty funny. He goes door-to-door, and the way he puffs out his chest trying to look important. It’s classic Mickey. You can almost feel the movie trying to convince you this moment matters. It doesn't, really, but it's cute.

Billy Barty shows up too, as Mickey's pint-sized sidekick. Their dynamic is… something else. Barty often gets the short end of the stick, literally and figuratively. There’s a bit where Mickey uses Barty as a lookout, telling him to stand on an overturned bucket. The bucket, naturally, collapses. Barty’s deadpan stare at Mickey after he tumbles is **gold**. No dialogue needed. Just a look that says, 'You really thought that through, huh?'

Fontaine Fox, the writer, seemed to really lean into these physical bits. Sometimes they land, sometimes they feel like they’re from a completely different film. The pacing, though, it’s a bit all over the place. One minute, things are zipping along with some slapstick, then it slows down for a conversation that goes on about 20 seconds too long, and the silence starts to feel awkward rather than emotional. You just kinda want them to get on with it.

The Supporting Players

• Delia Bogard plays, I think, the love interest? Or maybe just the girl Mickey’s trying to impress. She mostly rolls her eyes, which, fair enough. Her reactions are probably the most relatable thing in the film.
• Jimmy Robinson and Marvin Stephens are also in the mix, mostly as background buddies or rivals. They don't get a whole lot to do, just sort of follow Mickey’s lead, or trip over something he left in their path. One reaction shot from Robinson, after Mickey almost burns down a shed, lingers so long it becomes funny.

The movie gets noticeably better once it stops taking itself seriously. There are moments, especially in the last third, where Mickey's 'strategy' completely unravels. Like, *completely*. He’s supposed to win a race, but his contraption falls apart, literally, in a shower of nuts and bolts. Instead of being defeated, he just kinda shrugs. That resignation, that sudden lack of self-importance from him, that's where the film finds its rhythm.

I also kept thinking about The Boy in Blue for some reason. Not that they're similar plots, but just that certain youthful energy Rooney had, even in wildly different roles. Here, it’s more raw, less refined.

The crowd scenes have this oddly empty feeling sometimes, like half the extras wandered off for a snack. It adds to the charm, oddly. Makes it feel more like a small-town play than a big movie production.

There's this one shot, a close-up of Mickey when his 'master plan' for the school play goes sideways. He's standing there, covered in flour, and he just blinks. Slowly. *Very* slowly. It’s not a laugh-out-loud moment, but it’s just… *Mickey*. That's the movie, really. A collection of those moments.

It’s not a film you'll write essays about, or even talk about much, honestly. But for an afternoon when you just want something easy and a little bit quirky, it does the job. It's got its heart in the right place, even if its head isn't always quite there. A little messy, but sometimes messy is fine. Sometimes it’s even good. 👍