This is probably my favorite of the Arbuckle/Keaton collaborations. I do remember when this was released on DVD and newly discovered about fifteen years ago or so - how time flies. I saw the other Arbuckle/Keaton shorts before this one and while I liked them, this one I liked much better. Some of the other shorts have really grown on me since, but this short I have loved all along. There's not really much of a plot to this one, just a ton of playful energy. The waiter/cook business at the beginning is great stuff. I love the way they toss around cups of coffee and bowls of soup in the air to each other without a spill, and it's always a pleasure watching Arbuckle flip those knives around. Also, the knife to the back of Keaton's neck, as Paul mentioned? Yow! Crazy stuff. The physical things these guys did to their bodies is amazing. There's this one gag about ten minutes into the short at involves a domino effect of about four guys smashing into each other. The momentum of one guy leads into another about four times until the final fall. It's quite a breathtaking gag, and feels very Keatonesque. This type of gag will totally be mastered in NEIGHBORS.
The chase at the end? Hey, I dig it. Lots of great outdoor scenery, that awesome roller coaster, great falls all around, and while the ending again is kind of sudden, I wonder if it's from a lack of completeness in what is available? Also really love the spaghetti scene. Arbuckle and Keaton get their fun little solo bits with the spaghetti until we get to that wonderful bit where they hang napkins like clothes out to dry on the spaghetti, followed by Al St. John taking that massive fall on the table. Hey, I love this one, just great characters and slapstick, and I was smiling the whole time.
10/10