Football Romeo

Football Romeo (1938)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

With a big football game coming up, the gang makes Alfalfa think that Darla has fallen in love with Butch. The plan is for this to inspire Alfalfa to play harder in the game but instead it turns him into a heartbroken soul who doesn't want to play. FOOTBALL ROMEO is certainly a step up from the previous films in the MGM series. I think a lot of credit has to go to Alfalfa who manages to make you believe that he has really given up the sport since he can't have his girl. There's really not too much happens but the way Alfalfa walks away from the game was actually pretty funny as is the scene where he's pretty much forced back into the game after writing a poem and expressing his emotions. The football game itself is also fun to watch as Butch just can't seem to figure out what's happened and why Alfalfa is going nuts on the field. Fans of the Our Gang shorts should really enjoy this one even though it's certainly far from a classic. It's also interesting that when Alfalfa catches a football he runs through the open gate in the field much like Mr. Gump would do decades later.