Sherman Said It: A weirdly stuck-in-time comedy

Is it worth your time?

If you’ve got a soft spot for silent-era slapstick and don't mind a story that feels like it’s being held together by duct tape, sure, give it a whirl. But if you’re looking for something tight or logically sound, you’re probably going to hate how aimless this feels.

Charley is just... still there. The war is over, everyone has gone home, but our guy is still wandering around France like he’s waiting for the bus to take him back to 1918. It’s got that specific, slightly dusty charm that reminds me of The Clodhopper, just without the same amount of heart.

Odd bits and pieces

• The pacing is frantic, which is fine, but sometimes it feels like they just forgot to edit a scene down.
• Charley Chase is doing his usual thing, but he looks genuinely tired in some of these long shots.
• The background extras in the village scenes look like they’d rather be literally anywhere else.

There’s this one moment where he’s trying to navigate a basic conversation and the timing is just off. It’s not a mistake, exactly, but it feels like the energy in the room dropped out of the floor. It’s actually kind of funny in a sad way.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Sherman Said It (1933) through its definitive frames.

I kept thinking about how different this is from the controlled chaos you see in Duck Soup. Where that movie is a surgical strike of wit, this is more like a guy tripping over his own shoelaces for twenty minutes. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s definitely not high-art.

Sometimes the movie tries to get serious about the post-war blues, and it just doesn't land. It feels like someone trying to tell a joke at a funeral. 🤷‍♂️

Anyway, if you like watching people try their best with a script that clearly didn't have a third act, this is your movie. Don't go looking for deep meaning. It's just a guy in France. That's about it.