While this doesn't feature too many of the mind-blowing and death-defying stunts that Buster Keaton was known for - don't get me wrong, there are a couple, one involving a small bomb that Buster uses to light a cigarette before discarding in front of some cops, and there's a bit with a ladder that he gets stuck on between two sides of cops after him - it's an excellent example of making comedy out of a chase. A lot of people will say physical comedy would be nothing without the chase sequence, and it's in that in mind that Cops is essential viewing.
It's not a chase through the whole film, and the majority of the cops of the title aren't there until halfway through; this is actually about Buster trying to impress a girl by becoming a 'good businessman', and how he does that is use a (ahem) wallet he happened to lift, sort of accidentally, from some town mayor, and uses the money to help out a family moving their stuff over town. He (sort of) helps pack up a cart and has to go with the horse across town. Not necessarily easy, one sees, when the horse is slow as hell. Maybe some goat gland therapy (?!) will do the trick, and maybe too well as case turns out.
The reason to see this isn't for the story and Keaton and co-director Kline know that, so it's really jam-packed with energy: seeing Buster run, even at the sped-up film speed, is exhilarating, especially when seeing how it's choreographed with the hundreds (I'd say that's a fair estimation) of cops chasing after Buster once he happens upon a city-wide cop parade. There's always time for a gag where Buster hides in a trunk (or gets caught in one), and how he manages to slip out and keep moving may be ridiculous, but there's always some logic to it, whether it's more cartoonish at times than others.
I think the key thing with Cops is that we're fully on Buster's side, though the Cops of the title make for splendid foils and characters for Buster to play off of; when he is being chased by one cop, he tries to hide behind another cop directing traffic, and the cop hits the other instead of Buster. Classic move, and yet while we're often told to respect the police and be nice and yada yada, Keaton knows that with him in the lead there's no way we don't want to see him f*** with them at least a little. It's a joy to behold how this man acts and directs this, leading up to an ending that might almost be bittersweet if it wasn't all so perfectly silly.
It's not a chase through the whole film, and the majority of the cops of the title aren't there until halfway through; this is actually about Buster trying to impress a girl by becoming a 'good businessman', and how he does that is use a (ahem) wallet he happened to lift, sort of accidentally, from some town mayor, and uses the money to help out a family moving their stuff over town. He (sort of) helps pack up a cart and has to go with the horse across town. Not necessarily easy, one sees, when the horse is slow as hell. Maybe some goat gland therapy (?!) will do the trick, and maybe too well as case turns out.
The reason to see this isn't for the story and Keaton and co-director Kline know that, so it's really jam-packed with energy: seeing Buster run, even at the sped-up film speed, is exhilarating, especially when seeing how it's choreographed with the hundreds (I'd say that's a fair estimation) of cops chasing after Buster once he happens upon a city-wide cop parade. There's always time for a gag where Buster hides in a trunk (or gets caught in one), and how he manages to slip out and keep moving may be ridiculous, but there's always some logic to it, whether it's more cartoonish at times than others.
I think the key thing with Cops is that we're fully on Buster's side, though the Cops of the title make for splendid foils and characters for Buster to play off of; when he is being chased by one cop, he tries to hide behind another cop directing traffic, and the cop hits the other instead of Buster. Classic move, and yet while we're often told to respect the police and be nice and yada yada, Keaton knows that with him in the lead there's no way we don't want to see him f*** with them at least a little. It's a joy to behold how this man acts and directs this, leading up to an ending that might almost be bittersweet if it wasn't all so perfectly silly.