GRANDMA'S BOY (1922)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Lloyd is the weak, wimpish Sonny, who would rather let someone humiliate him than fight back. This is evident from an early scene where a bullish, headstrong man known as the Bully (Charles Stevenson) throws Sonny into a well! Sonny pines for the lovely Mildred (Mildred Davis) but the burly, arrogant Bully wants her too, and even takes credit for making ice cream with Mildred when it was Sonny who did all the hard work. Those were the days.
Sonny lives with his steadfast, feisty grandmother (Anna Stevenson), who devotes herself to making Sonny happy (and will chase away unwanted guests in her lawn with a broom!) Grandma gives Sonny a suit for a special occasion at Mildred's house, when it turns out the same suit is worn by the house servant! Then there are the mothballs that are confused with candy, the goose grease on Sonny's shoes that attracts the attention of several house cats, a Civil War flashback told as a tall tale with Lloyd as Sonny's grandfather that will leave you in stitches, and an extended fight scene inside a barn that is so expertly and flawlessly conceived, you wonder why today's action films can't contain as much zing in their own fight scenes.
"Grandma's Boy" was originally conceived as a drama with chuckles and sight gags interspersed throughout (reportedly after initially poor test screenings). It is Lloyd's first feature-length film and it is a sweet, delectable surprise -a film that benefits from developing its main character from a wimp with a childlike innocence to a man who can stand up for himself. Of course, this is nothing new in the annals of literature or cinema, but Lloyd and company succeed in making it seem all new again (especially when Sonny's grandmother is the one to witness Sonny's gradual transformation and triumphs, not Mildred. I am not giving anything anyway by saying that he still wins Mildred's heart). Aside from Chaplin, Lloyd may well be considered one of the great humanists of silent comedy for his unreserved compassion and commitment to playing lovable, klutzy "Glasses" nerds who were men as well. This film proves it.
