Tit for Tat: Petty spite never looked this funny

Is it worth your time?

If you like watching two grown men lose their minds over a radio or a lightbulb, then absolutely. It’s perfect for a lazy afternoon. If you need a movie with a coherent plot that doesn't just devolve into people breaking things, maybe skip it. Actually, scratch that—everyone should watch this at least once.

There’s something about the way Stan and Ollie just cannot let go of a grudge. It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion, but the car is a grocery store and the crash is mostly just broken eggs and smashed furniture. It’s beautiful in its own stupid way.

The shop setup is classic. They’re selling fancy appliances, but all they really manage to do is invite chaos into their lives. You can tell they think they’re being sophisticated businessmen, but they’re really just two guys waiting to get hit in the face with a custard pie. Or a bag of flour. Whatever is closest.

Charlie Hall is perfect as the guy who just won't quit. He has this way of squinting at them like they’re a stain on his rug, and honestly, they kind of are. The whole tit-for-tat thing isn't deep, but it’s sharp. It’s the kind of spite that makes you giggle because you’ve definitely had a neighbor like that before.

Small moments that stuck

• The way Stan plays with his tie while he’s being berated. It’s a nervous tic that never gets old.
• The silence right before everything breaks. You know it’s coming, but the waiting is the best part.
• One of the shop signs is slightly crooked in a few shots, which is probably just a production error, but it makes the whole place feel even more doomed.

It feels a lot punchier than some of their other stuff, like Buster's Mix-Up, where things sometimes drag on. Here, the escalation is constant. One broken window leads to a destroyed shop, and nobody even tries to fix it. They just keep making it worse.

There’s this one bit where they’re trying to act all dignified in their suits, but you can see them struggling not to break character. It’s not the most polished performance they’ve ever given, but it feels real. Like they’re having a genuine laugh at how ridiculous the whole situation is. I dig that.

You can tell they spent a lot of time setting up the destruction. The timing of the glass shattering is just perfect. If you watch closely, you can see someone in the background barely suppressing a grin. It’s those little human mistakes that make it feel alive.

Is it a masterpiece of cinema? No. Is it better than watching The Devil? Probably, depending on how much chaos you can handle before your brain turns to mush. 🤡

By the end, you’re not even sure who won. Nobody wins in a war like this. They just end up covered in dust and looking slightly more confused than when they started. That’s the point, I guess. Life is just a series of petty arguments until the police show up.