Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges had opportunities to appear in feature films and shorts without his long-time partners, and in this one he is paired with one of the most annoying comics in film history: El Brendl. I'm certainly not a fan of the violent comedy that the Three Stooges put out for decades, but I'll take those over the annoying cheerful way that El Brendl expresses himself with that annoying Swedish accent, especially when he declares "Yumpin' Yimminy". Here, the two take on jobs as plumbers, and obviously are so stupid they wouldn't even know how to turn off a sink.
Of course there is a traditional Shemp Howard bit of violent comedy, but it is done in ways that actually are funny, especially when he attempts to fill up a tool chest and the tools bounce back at him and hit him in the head because of a rubber tire inside the chest. I delighted in seeing El Brendel get knocked on the noggin several times, but that's for completely different reasons. When they go to a woman's house to help her find her ring that she accidentally knocked down the drain, it's more visual humor and plenty of laughs as long as El Brendel doesn't speak. Thanks to Shemp, however, this ends up being funnier than I expected, especially when I found myself laughing and anticipation of an obvious gag coming up.
Of course there is a traditional Shemp Howard bit of violent comedy, but it is done in ways that actually are funny, especially when he attempts to fill up a tool chest and the tools bounce back at him and hit him in the head because of a rubber tire inside the chest. I delighted in seeing El Brendel get knocked on the noggin several times, but that's for completely different reasons. When they go to a woman's house to help her find her ring that she accidentally knocked down the drain, it's more visual humor and plenty of laughs as long as El Brendel doesn't speak. Thanks to Shemp, however, this ends up being funnier than I expected, especially when I found myself laughing and anticipation of an obvious gag coming up.