Kindhearted but nervous around women, a tailor shop apprentice goes to extraordinary lengths to secure the affections of a young lady he helped on a train in this Harold Lloyd silent comedy. Often regarded as one of Lloyd's best films, 'Girl Shy' benefits from frequently letting its star emote in close-up with Lloyd delivering one of his most down-to-earth and touching performances. The film is also capped off by a magnificently choreographed elongated chase sequence, the ingenuity of which puts 'The Graduate' to shame as Lloyd similarly tries to stop a wedding. 'Girl Shy' is an uneven ride though, even with these pluses. A prominent subplot has Lloyd (ironically) writing a manual on how to talk to women and trying to get it published, and while there is a lot of humour to be had in this subplot, it feels like part of a completely different movie, not gelling well with his romance with the train passenger. The gags are also a little hit-and-miss. That said, the ones that work are exquisite. Highlights include Lloyd eating mousetrap cheese to cover up for accidentally sticking his hand in one, Lloyd hiding the woman's dog on the train (and pretending to yelp like the dog) and Lloyd floating away on a turtle without realising it at a later point. The aforementioned concluding chase sequence is very impressive too and provides a charming note for the film to end on.
