While the pacing and structure can be off putting because as is typical, some gags happen in a certain setting, such as construction here, with the leads being construction workers doing construction jokes, then the plot suddenly moves to something else, like bartending, with little rhyme or reason, like random jokes written for different projects were tossed into this short; that’s all easy to forgive in Pardon My Scotch, as it’s just so extremely funny.
The Three Stooges get fun wordplay, like when they say “Left” or “Right”, to affirm a command or as direction. Moe is glorious in full form as a lovable asshole, like when the group, standing opposing, point to each of their right side and Moe gets mad they aren’t pointing to his right. Moe gets more to do than he has, instead of Curly getting the focus. Here, Moe even has more material than Curly. It’s so much fun seeing Moe condescend to Curly, feeling he’s so much dumber, especially when he tries to be nice. His frustrated facial expressions are priceless, like after he thinks he got Curly to understand him. Larry sadly doesn’t get much to do.
The scene of Moe falling after a table is cut in half is one of the more famous gags, looking really painful and actually really hurting the real life Moe. It’s very impressive how much these guys went through to get laughs. It’s hard to imagine how this gag could’ve gone safely for Moe or that he would’ve knowingly hurt himself like that. As a whole, the construction scene is one of the finest slapstick scenes in the whole series so far, with the gang running around finding new and creative ways to create glorious hilarious violent havoc for each other.
There’s even a particularly cute drawing of the gang during the title card. The look of the drink the group is making changes constantly between shots, such as being more or less full. “I’ll marry him if there’s enough dough in it.” Curly has made a habit of saying slightly gay things.
SPOILERS
The group randomly deciding to destroy Billy Gilbert’s performance is more of a Marx Brothers thing to do, being crass in polite society for the sake of it, but the Stooges are the type to be funny by intending to be polite themselves, but failing so beautifully. That being said, this light moment of them choosing chaos deliberately is so charming and well executed that it is another highlight of the series. We’re just seeing them kick back and blatantly being the kooks they are. A favorite moment is when Curly awards the others a trophy, which Moe then smashes over his head. The scene continues to be heavenly with the hysterical and straight delivery of, “What are you trying to make for me? A fruit salad? Pigs!” He then slips on a banana. After you think the scene will then die down, Moe throws a pineapple at him, Gilbert has left the room, but the pineapple defies physics and goes after him. His offscreen scream is also great.
Things sadly do die down, being a little slower before the finale. The ending sequence is too fast. A little more time and ways for things to go wrong would make the ultimate explosion more humorous. Things then end a little too suddenly, with Moe just hitting the others a little.
OVERVIEW
Despite some minor critiques, Pardon My Scotch is so stuffed with great jokes it has to be the best of the series so far, even with slight drag around the end. Even something like the ending, while having problems, still delivers gags solid enough to keep you laughing. It also epitomizes the short. At the end of the day, Moe will avoid his own faults and instead just smack around Larry and Curly; his sometimes and real brother.
The Filme Diary 