Poor Aubrey is a masterclass in being incredibly annoying

Is this worth your time?

If you've ever had a coworker who won't stop talking about their 'investments' while eating a sad desk salad, you need to see this. It’s a total gem for anyone who likes character studies about people who are their own worst enemies.

But look, if you need big sets or a plot that actually goes places, you’ll probably turn this off in five minutes. It’s basically just a filmed play where people yell in a living room. 🎬

The whole thing centers on Aubrey Piper. He’s played by Franklin Pangborn, who was the king of playing 'fussy' guys back in the day.

Aubrey is a clerk. He makes almost no money, but he walks around like he’s just bought the city. He’s got this laugh—this horrible, loud, fake laugh—that he uses whenever he’s lying. Which is always.

It’s honestly kind of stressful to watch. You know that feeling when you're watching someone embarrass themselves and you have to look away? That is the entire 18 minutes of Poor Aubrey.

I found myself staring at his carnation. He wears this big flower on his suit like he’s going to a wedding, but he’s just sitting in a house being a jerk. It’s such a small, perfect detail that tells you everything about his ego.

Then you have Clara Blandick as the mother-in-law. You might know her as Aunt Em from The Wizard of Oz, but here she is way more cynical. Her face is just a constant map of 'I cannot believe my daughter married this idiot.'

She doesn’t even have to say much. She just watches him brag about his fake cars and his fake influence, and you can see her soul leaving her body. It’s magnificent.

The movie is based on a play called The Show-Off. You can tell because the camera barely moves. It feels like you are sitting in the front row of a theater in 1930, smelling the greasepaint and the old velvet seats.

Some people might find the audio a bit crackly. It was made right at the start of the 'talkie' era, so everyone is basically shouting at the microphones hidden in the flower vases. 🎤

There is this one moment where Aubrey tries to explain why he was speeding in a car he doesn't even own. He gets so tangled up in his own lies that he starts sweating. Pangborn’s eyes go all wide and watery.

It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in The Bashful Lover, though that one is a totally different vibe. Or maybe some of the domestic chaos you see in Your Wife and Mine.

I think what I liked most is that it doesn't try to make Aubrey a 'good' person. He’s just a loser. But he’s a loser with style, even if that style is completely delusional.

There’s a bit of a subplot with the daughter trying to defend him, but it’s mostly just background noise. The real meat is the war of words between Aubrey and the mother-in-law.

It’s weirdly relatable. We all know an Aubrey. Heck, in the age of Instagram and 'fake it til you make it,' Aubrey Piper is basically every second person on my feed. 📱

If you're looking for other stuff from this era that feels a bit more grounded, you might check out Go Straight. But if you want to see a man dive headfirst into a pool of his own nonsense, stick with this.

The ending is a bit abrupt. It just kind of... stops. No big lesson learned, no grand redemption. Aubrey is still Aubrey.

I guess that’s the point. People like that don't change; they just find new people to lie to. It’s deeply annoying and yet I kind of want to watch it again just to see that stupid carnation.

Anyway, it’s short. It’s funny. It’s uncomfortable. Give it a look if you want to see how people were annoying each other ninety years ago. It turns out, not much has changed.