Review for The Kid

The Kid is possibly the oldest film I have ever watched, having been originally released in 1921, yet, it is one of the warmest, funniest films I have watched in a long time. Think about that for a second. A film that is over ninety years old is still one of the funniest ever created. Anyone who does not enjoy Charlie Chaplin really needs to say they hate almost all comedy and you could take any film created since 1921 and find some element of it. The warm ending could almost have come from any Richard Curtis comedy and all of the slapstick fighting, could have easily come from the fight scene in the recent smash Hot tub Time Machine.
The Kid is such a simple story. It tells of a little boy (later in the film played by Jackie Coogan) who is abandoned by his mother and adopted by the Tramp (Chaplin). Really that's it. There is nothing complicated about this story. The two characters just try and get by and avoid the police at all costs. Despite the simplicity of the plot, which is almost like Oliver Twist, there is a wonderful creation in the setups of jokes and scenes. You could almost watch this like a sketch show and enjoy each segment for the humour in it. Chaplin is almost in his element in this film and he is aided greatly by the comic timing of Coogan and at less than an hour, it leaves you wanting more.
Thankfully, this set also comes with lots of extra features to quench that thirst. The introduction by David Robinson is a nice overview for how and why the film was created, though as it was only five minutes, I wish it had been stretched to become a commentary instead. Deleted scenes and a behind the scene footage of Coogan dancing is a nice extra and shows just how much Chaplin put into creating this picture through editing. A behind the scenes look at the re-recording of the score in 1971 is nice as is the Chaplin Today documentary. What is even better is the inclusion of Nice and Friendly a short that also stars Coogan and Chaplin, which is almost as good as the feature itself.
The Kid is the DNA to which all comedy has evolved from and Chaplin himself is a God. These new releases of his work only goes to show that time will never fade quality. (Let's see if we are saying the same about any of Judd Apatow's films in ninety years time!