The film begins with the Chase family plus Charley's lazy brother-in-law (Oliver Hardy) at home. They are rather poor but want a vacation so Charley learns about a contest sponsored by a fountain pen company in which the salesman who sells the most pens will win a cruise for their family. Well without showing much of how he won this, you see that Charley is the seemingly lucky guy. But as the cruise begins, one bad thing after another happens. First, they misplace their young daughter and accidentally switch her with a young Black girl. I thought this would be played for cheap laughs at the expense of the Black kid, but oddly it was not. After they discover the mistake, they don't seem all that worried about losing their daughter and treat this new kid like their own(!). Then, as the ship continues to sail, they learn it's the old ship's last voyage--and you can really see why. First, their room leaks terribly, then the lifeboat is named "the Davy Jones" and Charley's leg crashed right through it. To make matters much worse, their life jackets sink when Charley tosses a few overboard and the wall of their room falls down! These gags are all quite funny and a welcome change from the rather dull beginning. Unfortunately, the movie ends abruptly once their daughter finally show up and the ending is particularly unfunny--someone tells Charley that his brother-in-law was killed and so he celebrates! What a bizarre ending and a great way to end the film on a sour note.
Review of Isn't Life Terrible?
