Chaplin's Recreation

“Recreation” (1914, Chaplin)

Nothing fails to elicit laughter like a few bricks flying into a few heads. There are some classic Chaplin gags in “Recreation” that surely would be employed in later films. Chaplin’s comedy is very much a physical comedy. “Recreation” gives us two instances where Chaplin is throwing his legs around. The first is when he tries to rest both legs up on a park railing, thus falling down. The second is when he is seated next to the lady of the film and flipping his legs left and right and we wait until he eventually might flop them on top of her laugh. Chaplin acts like more of the school-girl in so many of the instances when he is in the park trying to woo someone’s else’s girl.

“Recreation” is a short short which is good. I find that the slapstick routine can get tiring if something really good isn’t thrown in. Cue the flying bricks! After all the round house punch attempts, aforementioned park sidewalk curbing dismantling and hucking, and , in general, slap downs, we have 2 cops, a sailor, his girl and Charlie all splashing around in the park lake. The film was released in the second half of 1914 and was Charlie’s 23rd overall film and 9th try directing. There is even a margin of evolution from the first half of 1914 to the second!