These days Chaplin is known to very few, heck, it’s hard to find people who have an affinity for the three stooges and Laurel and Hardy as it is, what more Chaplin, master of the silent film comedy. And yet, taking a look at City Lights one observes a mastery and craftsmanship that go beyond the trademark mustache and waddle.
From the first few minutes the movie will have you laughing; Chaplin’s antics set the benchmark for physical comedy and sight gags, and these jokes hold up well today. I honestly could not stop laughing. Nor did I want to stop. It just flowed, there is a joy in this film, and it’s one of the great strengths that it has, it is fun to watch, and it aims at evoking enjoyment.
This isn’t to say that it’s not without its dark or sad moments. Indeed the story is filled with tragedy, always just below the surface. And this tragedy makes the happiness in it, the grand moments, all the greater. Along with the great comedy pieces there is an earnest, affecting love story.
City Lights has some heavy scenes, and some truly poignant moments, but it never takes itself too seriously as it rolls out one great gag, joke, or situation, after another. and through it all one can derive an experience of pure enjoyment.
