"Whoopee!" was the first film that Busby Berkeley did the choreography for; he would later surpass his work here, but his innovative, synchronized numbers are an indication of things to come. It was also the feature-length talkie screen debut for Eddie Cantor; one way to advertise him would be "all 4 Marx Brothers rolled into 1"! He has energy to spare. Of course his jokes often miss - but what comedian can claim a 100%, or anything close to it, success rate? His "recital" of "Making Whoopee" and "A Girlfriend of a Boyfriend of Mine" is inimitable. The film is loaded with sexual innuendo (some of it blatantly homoerotic) and hip (then) pop references (from Al Jolson to Ronald Colman); it's overlong, set-bound and dated in some aspects, but there is a lot to enjoy here. *** out of 4.
Review of Whoopee!
Whoopee!
(1930)
Auspicious debuts for Busby Berkeley and Eddie Cantor
15 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers