Rhythmitis: Tap dancing, pills, and absolute nonsense

Is this actually worth your time?

Look, if you enjoy movies that feel like a fever dream or you have a weird fascination with 1930s vaudeville, you might get a kick out of Rhythmitis. It is short, it is weird, and it is definitely not trying to be high art.

If you prefer plots that make sense or characters who behave like actual humans, you should probably stay far away. My brain felt like it was doing gymnastics just trying to keep up with the pill-popping premise.

The Dancing Situation

The whole gimmick is that Hal just starts tapping away like his life depends on it. Honestly, the footwork is impressive, but the context is just wild. One minute he is standing in a drugstore, and the next, he is the star of the show. It moves so fast it makes your head spin.

There is this moment when he is dancing in the drugstore that honestly felt like it went on for about ten minutes too long. You can see the extra effort he is putting into the steps, but the background actors just look bored. It is oddly charming, but also kinda funny how nobody really questions why this guy is suddenly a professional hoofer.

Wait, are we really doing this?

The writing here is... well, it is something. It feels like someone took a basic musical script and decided to spice it up with whatever random ideas they had on a napkin. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in The Tenderfoot, where things just happen because the plot needs to get to the next scene.

When the pills run out, the tension is supposed to be high, I guess? But it just feels like the movie ran out of steam. The way Hal just loses his rhythm instantly is so dramatic it’s almost like a cartoon character losing their power-up. 👞

• The doctor character is a total weirdo, but I kinda loved him.
• The drugstore set looks like it was built out of cardboard and hope.
• I’m still not sure if the tap dancing was supposed to be magical or just really intense medicine.

It is definitely not as heavy as Through the Dark, thank goodness. Sometimes you just need a movie about tap-dancing pills to cleanse the palate, right? Even if the palate feels a bit confused afterward.

There is this one shot where they linger on his face for way too long after a dance number. He is just breathless, staring into the camera, and it stops being about the performance and starts feeling like an awkward elevator ride. I laughed out loud.

Anyway, don't think too hard about the science of it all. Just watch the feet, ignore the plot holes, and accept that Rhythmitis is a weird little relic of a movie that doesn't care if you get the joke or not.