Punch and Beauty: Short, loud, and mostly just Shemp being Shemp

Is this worth your time?

Honestly, only if you are already a fan of the Palooka series or you just need to kill ten minutes before your coffee kicks in. It’s not going to change your life, but it’s harmless enough. People who hate slapstick or get annoyed by guys yelling in hallways should probably skip this one entirely.

The whole premise is just aggressively simple. Joe is trying to sleep, the guy next door is making a ruckus, and things escalate from zero to ten in about three seconds. It’s the kind of logic you only see in these old shorts where every problem is solved with a closed fist.

Shemp Howard is doing his usual thing here. There’s a specific moment where he’s just reacting to the noise, and you can see him struggling to keep a straight face. It’s charming in a way that feels completely unpolished.

The pacing is all over the place. One minute we are talking about the big fight, and the next we are just watching people stomp around a hotel room. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in A Fire Has Been Arranged, where you just sort of wait for the next loud noise to happen.

Random thoughts from the couch:

• The sound mixing is… well, let's call it enthusiastic.
• The hotel walls must be made of paper, or these guys have the vocal cords of opera singers.
• I’m pretty sure that same hotel room set shows up in about five other movies from this decade.
• The knockout punch is hilariously slow-motion in spirit, even if the camera doesn't actually slow it down.

There isn't much else to say. It’s a very small movie. It doesn't pretend to be anything more than a distraction. Sometimes that’s enough. Just don't expect it to stick in your brain for longer than the time it takes to walk to the kitchen for a snack. 🥊