Steamboat Bill Jr.

It's amazing how this movie is nearly 100 years old and the humor holds up. So much of it is timeless. Some is just one-off funny, like when our hero knocks a life ring off the boat and it immediately sinks like lead. But most of the comedy is down to Buster Keaton himself, who plays a 1928 version of a Boston fop - he has a ukulele, annoying facial hair, wide-leg pants, striped jacket. It's so funny how you could replace his outfit with something from any era - he could be a beatnik, a hippie, a hipster with a man bun - basically any young trend that gets on the nerves of elders. That's what sensitive Steamboat Bill Jr. does to Senior, a rough steamboat captain dismayed by his son's perceived unmanliness. Nonetheless, Bill Jr. comes to work on the boat, falls in love with a beautiful girl whose father is a stuck-up steamboat rival (also she is the epitome of 1920s flapper! Dropwaist skirt, bob, strappy heels, hands flounced out to the sides. It's lovely). 

High jinks ensue, showcasing Buster Keaton's incredible skill at physical comedy. Genuinely he's so funny and acrobatic, a delight to watch. This is one of his best movies. The absurd things he gets up to with his dead-eyed fish stare - he's inimitable (although maybe? Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster could have come straight from this movie). His work during a cyclone scene - I'm not even sure how it was possible. Also very technically impressive! No CGI required, just a ton of practical ingenuity. He was a genius. This movie is fantastic and holds up after 100 years, feels fresh while at the same time feeling like a perfect little time capsule of 1928. 

Buster Keaton being very sly during the old "hacksaw in the bread" jail scene