The Kid (1921)
Charlie Chaplin
The titular kid is an abandoned baby that Chaplin's character raises and has adventures with. But he isn't so sure about the whole idea in the beginning. In fact, he tries to abandon it several times, but is foiled. There's a strong sense of karma throughout the film. Well, not
karma exactly, but a sense that there's a force guiding the universe to prevent people from avoiding their fate, even in small matters.
So he doesn't throw the baby down the storm drain. Instead, Chaplin takes him home and tries to raise him. We cut to five years later, and the kid has grown up a bit. From there, we watch the two run a scam, avoid the police, and get into a fight against a bigger, tougher duo. The physical/situational humor is well-executed, even if a bit stale so many years later. The rhythms of a silent comedy are different, but there's something so joyous and entertaining about them. Once I embraced those rhythms, the comedy felt fresh. I enjoyed how Chaplin used the story to bring about the comedy, and kept the gags within the context of the story. It's less than a dozen years later that the Marx Brothers would terrorize the screen in
Animal Crackers, intentionally destroying any story. These feel like younger, more innocent days. There's a good bit of serious melodrama running through
The Kid - which works at some points, and not in others.
I would have liked to know more about Chaplin's character prior to his finding the baby. (Is there more of that in the 68-minute version?) The story also feels very slight, in a way. I'm struggling to pin down exactly why, but I do wonder if it's in the odd relationship between the obstacle and denouement. And what is up with the dream sequence? Surely Chaplin isn't saying that all the bad characters in the movie are bad because they are jealous.
Overall,
The Kid is an excellent, heartfelt comedy. Good call, ses.