So This Is London Review: Grumpy Dads and Bad Accents

You should probably watch this if you like Will Rogers or if you enjoy watching two old men yell at each other for an hour. It is a very specific kind of fun. 👴

If you can't stand loud, repetitive jokes about how Americans are 'uncouth' and British people are 'stuffy,' you will likely hate this. It hits those notes over and over.

Hiram Draper is the American dad. He's a self-made guy who thinks England is a waste of space before he even gets there.

His wife, played by Irene Rich, spends most of the movie trying to keep him from causing an international incident. She has the patience of a saint, honestly.

The whole thing kicks off because they have to go to London for business. Then they meet Lord Worth, who is basically the British version of Hiram.

Lord Worth is just as grumpy and stubborn. It's actually kind of funny because they are exactly the same person, they just have different accents.

The scene where they first meet is so awkward it becomes hilarious. You can practically feel the air leave the room while they stare each other down.

There is a romance subplot too, I guess. The son, Junior, falls for Lord Worth's daughter, Mary.

Maureen O'Sullivan plays Mary. She is very charming, but the romance feels like it's just there to give the dads something to fight about. 💍

I found myself wanting the kids to get off the screen so we could go back to the dads being petty. The bickering is the best part.

The sound quality is pretty rough. It's 1930, so everyone sounds like they are talking through a tin can filled with gravel.

Sometimes the actors talk over each other and it just becomes a wall of noise. I had to rewind a couple of times to catch the jokes.

It has that frantic energy you see in movies like Ladies Must Dress. Just lots of people moving fast and talking faster.

The sets for 'London' look very much like a backlot in Hollywood. The fog looks like someone was standing off-camera with a smoke machine they didn't know how to turn off. 🌫️

I noticed a moment where a butler stands in the background looking incredibly bored. I felt for him.

It’s not as visually interesting as something like Filibus, but that’s not really the point here. It's a comedy of manners, or lack of them.

Will Rogers has this very dry delivery. He makes even the most basic insults feel a bit cleverer than they actually are.

He does this thing with his face when he's annoyed that is worth the price of admission. It's all in the eyebrows.

The ending is exactly what you think it is. No surprises here, folks.

Everyone realizes they aren't so different after all. It’s sweet, but also a little bit cheese-y. 🧀

I’d say it’s a decent watch if you’re stuck inside on a rainy afternoon. It’s short, loud, and mostly harmless.

Just don't expect it to be some deep masterpiece. It’s just people being annoyed at each other until they aren't.