MovieChat Forums > The Frozen North (1922) Discussion > I get the feeling I don't get the jokes

I get the feeling I don't get the jokes

posted 15 years ago by Chrissie
5 replies | jump to latest

This seems to be one that you don't find funny unless you're familiar with what he's poking fun of. I just can't enjoy Buster as a robber, murderer, and (apparently) rapist.

[–] JimB-4 14 years ago

You're probably too young to be familiar with the things Keaton is spoofing in this film--the "good-badman" Westerns of William S. Hart and the "Man You Love to Hate" romantic dramas of Erich von Stroheim. Much of the humor depends on knowing the material being made fun of. A lot of the movie goes over the head of people who never saw or heard of the classic examples of Hart's and von Stroheim's films.

[–] jtyroler 12 years ago

From the booklet that comes with "The Forgotten Films of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbucke" DVD set, much of the humor in this was directed towards William S. Hart, who had been very vocal about Arbuckle being guilty in Virginia Rappe's death. Supposedly, Hart would not talk with Buster Keaton for over a year after this came out.

[–] vinidici 13 years ago

Modern zany comedy flicks do the same thing, i.e., poke fun at contemporary celebrities and current events, e.g., the "Scary Movie" series. Eighty years from now, no one will "get" the ending, where the "Tom Cruise" character is jumping up and down the on the couch on the televised set of the "Oprah" clone.

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[–] jtyroler 12 years ago

This was much better than some of the parodies that have been made recently, like, "Meet the Spartans" and "Disaster Movie".

I like the darkness of this short - Buster is supposed to be dreaming after falling asleep in a movie theater.

[–] justejust 12 years ago

I'm not familiar with the work of William S. Hart or Erich von Stroheim, and I had no idea this was supposed to be a parody of something... But I enjoyed it very much. It was nice to see Buster in a different character. The concept of a character being bad and still being a protagonist isn't that uncommon. Besides, it's still a comedy, and violence and drama is so exaggerated I have no problem watching Buster as a comedic murderer and rapist :D