Review of They Go Boom!

Laurel and Hardy are simply trying to get a good nice sleep but Mr Hardy has a really bad case of the sniffles and can't get off easily. Laurel just wants to help and tries various remedies including a bath of hot water, a mustard plaster and a water bed. But try as he might things don't seem to be getting any better for Hardy.

A oft repeated theme is used to good effect here – Laurel is simply trying to help Hardy but yet he only manages to make things worse in one way or another. In this film Hardy is a little full of the cold so Laurel tries to help. The routines are pretty funny – my favourite gags are the little running ones rather than the bigger set ups. So, for example, I loved the bath of water constantly getting in the way or the fat that Hardy kept getting hit in the head. The self contained nature of the film and the fact that the plot isn't something that needs a great deal of setting up works in it's favour.

Laurel does well in his wide eyed innocent role but as always Hardy has to carry the majority of the prat falls and does it very well indeed. The support cast have a very small contribution to make and it shows their class that Laurel and Hardy carry almost 100% of the screen time here.

Overall an enjoyable little short that is self contained and all the better for it.