“Through
every age there has been a worshipper at beauty’s shrine.”
Love
stories are usually told in the same fashion over and over again. A boy is in
love with a girl but the girl barely notices her or at least that is what the
boy thinks. The girl is with another boy who is bigger, stronger, and has more
money. The girl likes the regular better but she does not let him know that. The
boy has to fight to be seen and get the girl’s full attention and also has to
try to beat and outsmart the other boy. It is almost like a David and Goliath
story. Let’s face it the formula can get extremely old and boring. In 1923
Buster Keaton put a different spin on what was even an old formula in the 1920s
with his full length comedy Three Ages.
The
story flip flops between three ages: the Stone Age, the Roman Age, and the
Modern Age. Each story is a David and Goliath story. In each Keaton likes a
girl who barely notices him. When he tries to speak to the girl the first time
another bigger man comes in and tries to speak to her as well. The parents come
in and in each different period they give Keaton a test. In the Stone Age the
father hits the bigger guy who does not flinch and when he hits Keaton, Keaton
falls down; in the Roman Age the bigger guy outranks him; in the Modern Age his
bank account fails him.
Next
Keaton tries to make the girl jealous by being seen with another girl in the
Stone and Roman ages. In the Modern Age, Keaton tries to say hello to the girl
as she is waiting outside a restaurant for the bigger guy. Keaton is shy and
hides behind a car until the car pulls away. He follows the girl into the
restaurant and sits at a table where he can see the girl and the big guy.
Before Keaton sat at a table a man at a table over filled a decanter with
alcohol so his girlfriend would not find out he had any on him. As Keaton sits
at the table he becomes nervous and starts drinking what he believes to be
water. The more he drinks the funnier he becomes and then eventually passes
out. The bigger guy notices Keaton has been staring at them. He sends a letter
to the man at the other table pretending to be Keaton. The man gets up and
fights with Keaton who obviously has no idea what is going on.
The
next phase the bigger guy challenges the smaller guy to a game. In each age
Keaton wins but the bigger guy is a sore loser and finds a way to send the
smaller guy somewhere where he cannot be a bother. Again Keaton overcomes
whatever obstacle is thrown at him and he ends up with the girl.
Three Ages was very funny and sweet. My
description cannot do the film and the story justice. I love Buster Keaton’s
comedy because it is innocent and also because he does so many little movements
that happen so quickly but when they are caught make the scene so funny. Three Ages is not the best Buster Keaton
film, there is really nothing too outstanding about it but it is worth watching
if you like silent films or Keaton’s films.
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