English as She Is Not Spoken (1928)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Val and Ernie Stanton make their second appearance in a Vitaphone short and this here is a slight improvement over CUT YOURSELF A PIECE OF CAKE. This time out the two basically stand in the same spot as they re-create their vaudeville act, which includes a few songs as well as a couple comedy routines. While this here is a little better than their other screen appearance from 1928, this is still far from a good film. I think the biggest problem is the material itself, which just isn't all that funny, although I'm going to guess that it might have been funnier if you were seeing it in a club and had a few beers in you. There's a rather obvious taxi joke that never really flies and the rest of the routines have energy but no laughs. The musical numbers are a mixed bag but I'd say they are the best thing going here. None of the songs are all that memorable but they are quite catchy and manage to help keep this 9-minute film moving along at a decent pace.
