I'm naturally drawn to stories where good-natured idiots stumble into situations where they are trapped between two opposite and equally absurd sides. I'm reminded of Charlie Chaplin's great Modern Times (1936) where the Tramp repeatedly finds himself in the middle of a battle between organized labor and the police department. I wonder if John Boulting tried to emulate that film somewhat with I'm All Right Jack, a film where a hapless upper class university graduate gets a job as a factory worker only to accidentally start a massive series of strikes that sweep the countryside. One early sequence where the protagonist is given a tour through a sterile sweets factory seems directly inspired from Chaplin, particularly its conveyor belt gags. But the film fails to maintain that level of energy and inventiveness. Too much of the film's comedy comes from surprised guffawing courtesy of the representatives of labor and capitalism as they get drawn further and further into an economic nightmare. Peter Sellers received a BAFTA Best Actor Award for his performance as the factory's trades union shop steward. Now, Sellers was a magnificent actor and he deserved every single award imaginable for his rich and distinguished career. But, quite frankly, he is wasted in this film. Almost his entire performance is comprised of him alternating between two different facial expressions: pained consternation and self-righteous indignation.
6/10
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