Sprucin' Up: A chaotic, messy time with the gang

Is this worth the watch?

If you're into the old Our Gang shorts, you'll probably enjoy Sprucin' Up. It’s got that specific brand of sweet, slightly manic energy that only these kids could pull off. If you hate slapstick or find child actors annoying, steer clear, because this movie is drenched in both.

The whole premise is just a classic excuse for the neighborhood kids to act like total goobers. A new truant officer rolls into town, and suddenly, everyone is trying to be on their best behavior to impress his daughter. It’s cute, in a slightly dusty, black-and-white sort of way.

Observations from the couch

Watching Spanky and Alfalfa try to play gentleman is, uh, something. There's a moment where the pacing just goes out the window. It’s like the director decided, "You know what? Let's just let them run around the yard for another two minutes."

The dog, Pete, honestly gives the best performance in the whole thing. He looks genuinely confused by half the stuff happening on screen. I don't blame him.

• The haircuts are a trip.
• The 'adult' acting by the kids is wonderfully stiff.
• I swear some of the background extras are just wandering around looking for the craft services table.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic, messy vibe you get in Bull Rushes. Just pure, unadulterated neighborhood chaos. There's no deep meaning here. No metaphors about the state of the world. Just kids, a very tired-looking truant officer, and a lot of clumsy attempts at being 'cool'.

There's a scene near the end where the whole thing just sort of... stops. No grand finale. No big musical number. Just a bunch of kids staring at the camera, looking like they're waiting for the director to yell 'cut.' It's charmingly bad.

If you have twenty minutes to kill and want something that doesn't ask you to think, this works. It’s not Face in the Sky, that's for sure. It’s just a little slice of goofy history. Don't expect to be changed by it. Just enjoy the ride. 🐶