Well, so far the Keaton Columbia shorts have turned out to be a lot better than I was expecting. Not that I think NOTHING BUT PLEASURE is a great short (as a matter of fact, I personally consider it to be the weakest of the three shorts we’ve seen so far), but it still does have some pretty entertaining moments.
Once again, we have a large supporting cast of great Columbia stock players, with Bud Jamison being the highlight (Vernon Dent also appears, but is wasted in a background role on the bus). Jamison really is the one that sells the scene outside the car shop, with his confused responses to Keaton being hilarious. Also, I seem to recall that the line, “One of us is crazy and it can’t be you” was used in a few Three Stooges shorts.
Keaton recycles a routine from SPITE MARRIAGE where he has to carry a drunk woman and it’s still pretty good here, especially when the bed falls over and he doesn’t realize she’s under it. Another highlight is Keaton’s overacting when he thinks that the cops are after him.
Probably my biggest problem with the short is the lack of focus outside of having bought a new car. Unlike the previous shorts, it really feels like they just decided to throw random routines in there rather than actually coming up with stuff that related to the topic at hand. Even the ending doesn’t feel all that well thought out; it reminds me of many of the bad Three Stooges endings which basically end with them running away...and that’s it. Not a whole lot of closure, it just kind of ends (Keaton stops the robbers, but there’s no indication that the cops will repay him for his service). To put it another way, it’s good comedy, but not really a good short.
7 out of 10