There are only vague echoes of the real "Our Gang" in this short. Alas, the problem again is that the kids don't sell it too well anymore. Also, MGM's pacing leaves a lot to be desired. The film opens with a whole minute (out of ten) of the studio executive reading a script that has little or nothing to do with the short. Then the executive's car has a flat tire next to "the Our Gang's" baseball game. There are a couple of funny bits here and there, in the sense that you know someone thought it must have been humorous, even if it wasn't.
Then we get to the audition, and there's only one mild chuckle when a ventriloquist says "And I'm Rover!" Froggy eating dog biscuits SHOULD be funny, but the pacing is so off and Froggy's so sluggish that it doesn't come off well at all. Spanky's become so phony it's depressing, and, oh, is that Janet irritating.
What we have, in essence, is another dull and plodding bare-bones plot outline masquerading as entertainment. Thanks, MGM.
