http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018890/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1http://www.lordheath.com/index.php?p=1_157_The-Finishing-Touchhttp://www.laurelandhardycentral.com/finishing.htmlhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlmghh41yWAWatch THE FINISHING TOUCH in the link above
One thing Laurel and Hardy and The Three Stooges have in common is whenever they are around tools comically destructive results happen. THE FINISHING TOUCH is the first such film for Laurel and Hardy, and it is definitely a classic. There's really not too much to say about this one because it's so simple. The plot involves Stan and Ollie having to build a house for a man by Monday in order to earn $500. They are doing so across the street from a hospital that involves quiet, so a pretty nurse, played by Dorothy Coburn, occasionally reprimands them, and when she's not, it is the job of a cop, played by Edgar Kennedy, to do so. Needless to say, all involved get put in several different slapstick comedy situations that involve very little plot and very many failed attempts at building a house.
Some random things I love about this short are Ollie putting the nails in his mouth, only to fall down in some various way and swallow them. By the third time he does it, my reaction is, "Oh no, I can't believe he hasn't learned his lesson yet!" I have no idea how nails digest, but for Ollie's sake, I hope easily, because if not, he's in for some pain.
Stan Laurel gets some nice bits as well. Watching him decimate a window sill methodically is fun, and his pantomime skills are wonderfully displayed when he fails to saw a board and keep his hat from falling off his head at the same time. Of course, at one point the hat accidentally becomes a saw!
There are also some nice ways gags reoccur. For example, very early in the film their truck seems to go in reverse and cause comic mayhem, so in order to prevent this, they put a rock underneath the back tire to keep the truck still. One of the last gags in the film, twenty minutes later, ties into this first gag very well. There's also several shots of Ollie walking on a plank to get to the elevated porch, and Ollie has the plank break from under him resulting in some very funny falls. The last time they do this gag in the film there is a great variation on this gag, which I won't give away. Also, the animated bird flying into and breaking the chimney at the end? Pure gold. Another great bit is the super glue falling on Edgar Kennedy, followed by the planks which manage to stick to him. He looks and moves like some slapstick FRANKENSTEIN monster.
Overall, just a very funny, simple, and satisfying slapstick comedy with no frills. If you want to see grown men fall down and find various ways to destroy a house, you've come to the right place.
10/10
