Movie Review: City Lights

I sometimes review movies long after they've come out. Usually because I don't see them until they become available on DVD.com (né Netflix). But this one might be a record. I'm going to review a movie that came out in 1931.

City Lights is a film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin. Despite the fact that movies had sound (i.e., were "talkies"), City Lights has no dialogue. The soundtrack only has music and some sound effects. Dialogue was minimal and handled by intertitles as would happen in a silent film. 

When I watch very old movies, especially comedies, I usually find them trite and corny. I recently watched The General, made in 1926, and it had that problem. In fact, I found it boring.

But with City Lights, I laughed a lot. Just shows the genius of Chaplin that his movie is funny 92 years after it was made. The story line is a little ridiculous, but that just sets up the humor. Chaplin is a tramp (as usual) who a millionaire adopts, but only when he's drunk. The tramp is in love with a blind flower girl (a woman who sells flowers on the street; it was the Great Depression, after all) and uses the millionaire's car and money to impress her. 

This movie was laugh-out-loud funny. I recommend checking it out (it is available on DVD.com).

How do you feel about old comedy movies. Do you find them boring or corny or funny. Let me know in the comments below.

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