Ain't It Aggravatin'

I don't usually like 1950s short movies, as they tend to constitute milquetoast approaches to complex issues; "Mystery Science Theater 3000" makes them worth seeing. But I found "Ain't It Aggravatin'" pretty funny. It portrays botched attempts to park, and then to build a patio.

Watching what happens here, I thought that it looked like the sorts of irritating situations described in "Weird Al" Yankovic's songs. I mean seriously, a parking job trashing other cars, and then an Insp. Clouseau-style attempt to build a patio? So, it's no masterpiece by any stretch, but still a fairly neat look at the irking situations that really can arise in one's life. The kind of stuff that Gilligan would probably do, if I may say so.

Pete Smith made a specialty out of, what else?, "Pete Smith Specialties," nearly copping the coveted Academy Award for one of his one-reel (about ten minutes) shorts, "Movie Pests," nominated in 1944. He delighted audiences for over twenty years with these short gems dealing chiefly with everyday problems and pet peeves of all kinds. In the post-World War II period, Pete found an everyman-type soul to star in many of these one-reelers, former B cowboy Dave O'Brien. O'Brien also directed the latter day "Pete Smith Specialties" including this one, "Ain't It Aggravatin'," which he helped write.

One reason for Pete Smith's popularity was his mesmerizing manner of narration. His voice wasn't much, very nasal, but his style and method of phrasing were unique and much copied by others, including the Disney studios who used a similar method for a series of cartoons featuring Goofy.

"Ain't It Aggravatin'" begins with aggravations involving parking a car. The first scene shows a method later used in the popular TV sitcom "Seinfeld" by Kramer when he parked, bumping the cars in front and back. Other aggravations are emphasized, ending with a long comedy routine involving brother Dave attempting to lay cement in back of his garage. Slapstick was the main comedic mode in the "Pete Smith Specialties" and "Ain't It Aggravatin'" is no exception. Dave could take a pratfall with the best of them. He had begun his Hollywood career as a stuntman; so he was no novice at the art.

Not as timeless as the humor of the Laurel and Hardy shorts or even that of The Three Stooges, the Pete Smith one-reelers were fun most of the time. "Ain't It Aggravatin'" is a good place to start, illustrating well the last years of the movie shorts as TV sitcoms began to take their place. It also shows the viewer Dave O'Brien at his best. If this one pleases you, take a look at some of the others, including the first "Pete Smith Specialties" from the early 30's.

Ain't It Aggravatin' (1954)

*** (out of 4)

Pete Smith short talks about all those aggravating things that happen when you don't want them to. Examples include going to park in a spot only to have someone cut you off. Another example is that parking spot that could fit two cars yet a park hog takes up both of them. Then we have Dave O'Brien playing your typical male trying to lay some concrete but he has to keep starting over once various problems come up. If you've never seen one of these Smith/O'Brien shorts then this would be a very good place to start. Smith's narration adds a lot of smiles and O'Brien's comic timing is right on the mark here. The physical comedy he displays has never really gotten any credit, which is a shame because he works perfectly as the guy next door with the string of bad luck. And yes, this is the same Dave O'Brien who played Ralph in REEFER MADNESS.

This is one of the best of the Pete Smith specialties starring former stuntman DAVE O'BRIEN as "Mr. Everyman." In this one, he first copes with parking a car and manages to smash cars in the fore and aft position. Next, he decides to build a patio in his backyard. All he has to do is lay the cement. Not so simple--especially when a kid's ball lands in the newly laid cement or when a neighbor tries to help and makes more of a mess. So, it's up to Dave to solve the situation.

Naturally, he's the worst participant in the solution. By the film's end, he's landed flat on his back in his own cement job.

Good for laughs--and O'Brien's physical prowess is as good as his skill with getting laughs out of slapstick comedy.