Review of The Pest

This is a rather lively silent comedy starring Stan Laurel only a few years before he teamed up with Oliver Hardy. Anytime I see Stan Laurel pre-Hardy, it's a weird experience because he is not acting the Laurel and Hardy character. Although he looks mostly the same (but with slicked-down hair instead of the sticking-up hair), his character isn't the same. In this short film, Laurel plays a kind of hapless hero who eventually saves the day. There are some scenes which were genuinely hilarious. Even the scenes where he's running around in a bizarre animal costume are good fun. I would give this film high rating... BUT unfortunately, there are a couple of racist things that come up in the background, and those really ruined the film for me. Laurel himself was no racist (I've watched most Laurel and Hardy films, and there was never a hint of racism in their films), but in 1922 there were some things in mainstream films which were "normal" which thankfully are not allowed anymore.