Tars and Stripes: Buster Keaton deserves better

Is it worth your time?

If you're a die-hard completist for everything Buster Keaton ever touched, sure, go ahead. But for everyone else? Probably not. It’s a scrappy little short that feels like it’s trying to be a comedy but forgot the funny part halfway through.

Who will like it: People who enjoy 1930s slapstick and don't mind a bit of a slog.
Who will hate it: Anyone who expects the genius-level physical comedy seen in The Knockout or his better silent work. This just isn't that.

Watching this, you get the distinct feeling that the studio was just checking boxes. It’s all very standard: recruit messes up, gets yelled at, hides, repeat. It’s barely a story. It’s just a sequence of things happening to a guy who looks like he’d rather be literally anywhere else.

Oddly Specific Notes

• Buster’s face is as blank as ever, but here it feels less like a comedic choice and more like he’s bored.
• The uniforms are weirdly clean for a training station. Everyone looks like they’re wearing costumes for a play, not actual Navy gear.
• There’s a moment in the mess hall where a tray drops, and the sound effect is delayed by a full second. It’s distracting.
• Vernon Dent is doing his usual "angry guy" routine, but he’s basically just shouting at walls for ten minutes.

The whole thing feels like it was filmed over a long weekend when everyone was tired. There’s no spark. It’s not as energetic as Betty Boop's Prize Show, which at least has the decency to be visually weird. Here, it’s just guys in sailor suits standing around in San Diego.

I found myself staring at the background extras more than the actual plot. One guy in the back left of the frame just walks in circles for three minutes. Is he lost? Was that on purpose? It’s the most interesting thing in the scene.

The ending comes out of nowhere. It’s like they ran out of film and just said, "Okay, that's enough, cut it." It’s not even a proper conclusion, just a stop. Total buzzkill.

If you want to see Keaton actually try, go find something else. This feels like a paycheck gig, and honestly? I don't blame him. Everyone has days like that, even silent film legends. It just sucks that we have to sit through it decades later. ⚓️