Customer Rating: 
Summary: The Perfect Day=The Perfect Comedy short!!
Comment: "Goodbye! Goodbye!"
Those words will NEVER sound the same to you after you watch The Perfect Day, a perfect 1929 Laurel & Hardy short.
In comedy terms, these words actually make show biz history, or sorts: they reflect one of the first-ever sound cinema uses of a highly effective comedy technique called the "callback."
Modern day funnyman David Letterman is today's master of this technique: he will often repeat a key phrase that got a laugh through his show, often with irony. In this wonderful Laurel and Hardy flick -- one of their BEST and one seldom shown on t.v. (but then, you hardly see ANY of their classic fresh-as-ever comedy shorts on t.v. these days -- who is sitting on those film rights???????!) -- the "perfect day" truly ain't: "the boys" simply want to go on a picnic with their wives on sunny, perfect day. But there are, ahem, complications......
Here are several reasons why this is the PERFECT short to get (if it ever comes back on the market or if you can get a used copy):
1. Timing: Every gag, every glance is perfectly timed. Students of comedy should watch and rewatch this short. Timing really is how many seconds between a look, move or
"take" are needed to generate the PERFECT comedy reaction from viewers.
2. The (in)famous Edgar Kennedy method acting blooper. L&H books note that slow burn master Kennedy says an "expletive" -- and he most definitely does. You can hear it in the section where he, L&H and their wives high-tail it out of the car. Listen closely (this early "method acting" is worth the price of this tape!"
3. Use of the callback phrase. "GOOD BYE!" Watch how it's used and when...sheer genius.
4. LA in the late 20s. The colorized version enhanced this short and turned it into a trip in a time machine.
5. The music sound track added in the late 30s. It enhances the film.
It is a huge tragedy that the work of these two comedians -- which inspired so many comedians of so many generations -- is now almost impossible to buy and difficult to find and view. Whoever is sitting on these rights is doing an enormous disservice to not only and L&H fans, but to the shape of future comedy, which will be determined by what younger viewers see and what influences them. It's hard to be influenced by work that is
not available on t.v. or on video.
These shorts are as fresh as the day they were made -- and the Perfect Day is the perfect example.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Very funny L & H short
Comment: Stan and Ollie are going on a family picnic. Of course, they never GET there, what with packing the lunch at the film's beginning and having car problems for the rest of the movie. A very funny 20 minutes, with the boys constantly getting in each other's way. This is one of Laurel & Hardy's first sound films (1929), and the dialogue is enjoyably casual (listen for Edgar Kennedy's uncensored expletive late in the film!). The excellent music track was added in 1936. The video version is colorized, and the added tints look great.
Customer Rating:
Summary: CLASSIC LAUREL AND HARDY
Comment: THIS IS ONE OF THE FUNNIEST LAUREL AND HARDY SHORTS OF ALL TIME. IT STARTS OUT WITH THE INTENTION OF L AND H AND THE WIVES GOING OUT ON A PICNIC WITH UNCLE EDGAR, WHO HAS THE GOUT. THEY GET A FLAT TIRE, A SPAT WITH A NEIGHBOR, BRICKS THROWN THROUGH WINDOWS, AND FINALLY A MODEL T SINKING IN THE MUD BEFORE THEY EVER GET TO THE PICNIC! I RATE THIS 5 STARS!
