The Antique Shop: Gracie Allen Being Gracie Allen

Is it worth your time?

If you have ten minutes and a soft spot for Vaudeville-style rapid-fire nonsense, yes. This is for the people who want to watch two pros just exist on screen together. If you need a movie that actually goes somewhere or has a point, you will probably be annoyed by how fast Gracie talks over everyone.

George is the straight man here, as always. He’s standing in this dusty shop, trying to buy a statue, and he looks like he’s aged about ten years just by standing next to Gracie for three minutes. It’s that classic look of, “I know what I signed up for, but why now?”

Gracie, meanwhile, is just doing her thing. She manages to turn a simple antique store into a minefield of confusion. She has this way of looking at a perfectly normal object and finding a way to make it sound like a threat or a philosophical puzzle.

The shop itself feels like one of those sets from Sunny Side Up where the corners are a little too dark and the props are clearly just gathered from the back of the studio. It doesn't matter, though. You aren't watching for the set design.

The Rhythm

There is a moment where she just starts talking about something completely unrelated to the statue, and George doesn't even try to stop her. He just waits. It’s almost painful to watch, but in a funny way. You can see him calculating how many more seconds until he can get the statue and go home.

Some of the supporting actors look a bit lost. Poor Chester Clute is trying to run a business, and he looks like he’s genuinely worried that the cameras might actually break if they stay in there much longer.

• Gracie’s hat is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
• The silence after she says something nonsensical is louder than the dialogue.
• George’s cigar is basically a third character in this scene.

It’s not high art. It’s barely a movie. It’s just a captured moment of two people who knew exactly how to make an audience giggle by doing the bare minimum. I honestly think it's better than most modern comedies that try way too hard to be clever. Sometimes, you just need someone to say something completely wrong with total confidence.

I caught myself rewinding the part where she confuses the statue for a relative. It’s stupid. It’s genuinely stupid. But I laughed. Don't overthink this one.