Review of The Balloonatic

The Baloonatic is a lightly amusing twenty minute short film that draws much of its comedy from loosely connected scenes which are slapstick, and mostly routine for Mr. Keaton. The story here revolves around a man, who as a result of his ever growing bad luck ends in the middle of an unfamiliar forest after a miscalculated ride on a stray hot-air balloon. It's a simple, short and relatively empty feature, outside of its comedic appeal, and so although Buster does well to bring the most out of his script, moments where the jokes fall flat can get a little tiresome. Again, a romantic subplot is consistently played underneath all the slapstick, and while it lacks any real solid involvement, nevertheless brings the entire feature together in a neat, cute and poignant manner; both funny and sweet. Regardless, if silent, short comedy films are your thing, then Keaton will be sure to please in some way or another throughout the twenty minutes, given that you care little for any other substance. By no means is this a classic, nor is it something you should go out of your way to see, but for historians and Buster Keaton fans alike, it's a small and welcome treat.

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