The Choke's on You: Shemp Howard and the art of the beach workout

Is it worth your time?

If you're the type who finds comfort in the rhythmic, dusty thud of 1940s slapstick, you’ll probably have a decent time. If you need a plot that actually moves forward without stopping for a pie-in-the-face routine every five minutes, stay away. This is pure fluff for people who think Shemp Howard is a national treasure.

The whole thing feels like a Saturday morning cartoon that somehow got lost in a time warp. Knobby is doing his best to make Joe Palooka look like a serious athlete, but the movie keeps getting distracted by its own jokes. It’s not exactly The Man from Arizona in terms of grit, that’s for sure.

Training, or something like it

The beach training sequence is weirdly hypnotic. Everyone is running around in those old-fashioned wool swimsuits that look like they weigh fifty pounds when wet. I swear, one guy in the background looks like he’s just trying to find his lost sandal for the entire duration of the scene.

Joe Palooka is supposed to be this tough guy, but he mostly just stands there looking confused while everything happens around him. It’s funny because he’s so deadpan. The contrast between his serious face and the chaos unfolding is honestly the best part.

• Shemp Howard is doing the heavy lifting here, obviously.
• The wrestling match itself is less about technique and more about how many ways you can trip over a rope.
• The dialogue is pure filler.

I kept waiting for a moment of actual tension, but it never comes. It’s just people bumping into walls. At one point, there’s a reaction shot of a bystander that lasts for what feels like a full minute, and I’m still not sure if the actor forgot his lines or if it was supposed to be a joke. It made me laugh, though.

There is a real, weird charm to how low-budget this feels. It makes Kiss Me Quick look like a big-budget epic. It doesn't try to be anything other than a quick distraction.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to find it, but if you stumble upon it while having coffee, it’s a perfectly fine way to lose twenty minutes. Just don't expect to remember the ending. I honestly can't even tell you who won the match, and I watched it this morning. 🤷‍♂️