Why Pay As You Exit is a weirdly fun relic

Is it worth your time?

If you have any soft spot for the Our Gang shorts, you’ll probably get a kick out of this. If you hate kids acting or really value the integrity of Shakespeare, stay far, far away. It’s a short, messy, and loud production that feels like it was put together on a lunch break.

The whole premise is just the gang trying to do Romeo and Juliet. But then they start tossing in lines from Hamlet because why not? It’s not exactly high art, but the sheer confidence they have is pretty funny.

The onion situation. It’s the driving force of the plot. Darla quits because Alfalfa’s breath smells like he just ate a whole garden, and honestly, fair enough. Watching her stomp off set is one of the more relatable moments in the whole thing.

Buckwheat stepping into the role of Juliet is the highlight, though. It’s completely ridiculous, and watching him try to navigate the balcony scene with a straight face is just pure gold. 🎭

There is also this weirdly jarring strongman act thrown into the middle of the play. It’s like the writers forgot what genre they were working in for a minute. It makes about as much sense as the tone shift in One Good Turn.

Random thoughts from the back row:

• Alfalfa trying to look romantic while smelling like an onion is a mood.
• The production value is basically a pile of old curtains and hope.
• I’m still not sure why the strongman show happened, but I didn't hate it.
• The chaos feels more real than the stuff in Curtain.

It’s not a masterpiece. It doesn’t try to be. It’s just kids having a loud, messy time. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need on a slow Tuesday afternoon. It makes me miss the days when people just made stuff without worrying about being perfect. 🍿

The ending is a bit abrupt. It just kind of stops. No big bow, no final curtain call. It just ends like someone cut the power to the camera. Whatever, it works.