As Long as You've Got Your Health (1966)

This was included on the same disc as Yo Yo. I was going to skip it, but at a mere 77 minutes on top of the previous 92, it called out to me. Besides, being divided into four stories averaging less than 20 minutes each would make it easy to stop whenever I wanted.

In part 1, an insomniac reads a vampire novel while his wife sleeps next to him. In part 2, people struggle to find acceptable seats in a movie theater. In part 3, people attempt to grin and bear living in a noisy, bustling city, sometimes with several medications against stress. In part 4, two picnickers, a huntsman, and a fence builder get on each other's nerves when they happen to choose the same neck of the woods.

It's hard for me to pick a favorite, but part 1 does stand out a bit. The reader's scene, unlike the rest of the movie, appears in color. There's no dialog there or within his imagination. While there's nothing new in the vampire story, its veneer of horror does provide a nice contrast for the jolts of humor -- some of which are visual distortions thanks to the actions of the reader, such as trembling hands causing the camera to shake.

Part 2 has nothing on some of the Warner Bros. cartoons I've seen. Perhaps the most valuable thing it has to offer today is a peek at how going to the movies used to be, assuming only slight exaggerations. Evidently, they had balconies, pillars, lots of viewers coming in long after the beginning and leaving before the end, and ushers who expected those whom they seated to pay them immediately for their services. (Gratuity or requisite?)

Part 3 has cathartic value. You may hate life near a construction site, but the jackhammers shouldn't be loud enough to make that much of a mess. Fast crowds on the sidewalk shouldn't be such juggernauts. And truck exhaust has become less of a problem. The medication pattern, however, has gotten no better, striking close to our temporal home.

After those urban scenes, part 4 may provide a little relief with a smaller focus. Not that the characters are any less frustrated for that. OK, it's not entirely each other's fault, as with the wide preexisting mud patches. We get a little more dialog here, thanks to the picnicking couple. Unfortunately, they're a bit stereotypical, with the woman unfairly criticizing the man, but I kind of expected as much from a hackneyed set.

As a supplement to YY, ALaYGYH isn't a bad way to pass the short time. I simply don't recommend renting the DVD just for the latter.