Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The same cast of 1929's "Top Speed" gets together for similar farcial fare in "Going Wild", a comedy about a nobody being mistaken for a famous pilot. Brown, of course, is the unfortunate nobody who must quickly train to learn how to fly. This leads to some hysterical sequences involving a murphy bed attached to a vacuum cleaner, an X-Ray machine, and a flying machine similar to the one used by Marie Dressler in 1932's "Emma". The flying sequence is similar to the boat sequence used in "Top Speed". There is one minor song between Joe E. Brown and Laura Lee which is tamer than anything they did in their previous film together. Lawrence Gray replaces Jack Whiting as the romantic lead, but Frank McHugh repeats his drunken supporting role. A few years away from stardom, Walter Pidgeon makes a memorable villain.

There were several Joe E. Brown movies in the early 30's that weren't funny and this is one of them. He had yet to hit his stride which seems to me occurred from "Elmer The Great" (1933) onward. The screenplay and the script are at fault here and the film was badly in need of a gag writer, and someone who could create funny situations and dialogue to go along with them. Scene after scene falls flat as a pancake with unfunny sight gags and rejected Vaudeville punch lines.Wasted in this carnage is Frank McHugh who for some reason is forced to play his role in an inebriated state throughout the picture. Also left in the lurch are Ona Munson, Walter Pigeon and Fred Kelsey. I caught this one on TCM, in a rare lapse of judgment for this normally dependable station.

I wish I had recorded more of Joe E Brown's movies when they showed up on TCM and definitely will be on the watch as this movie was freaking funny as hell! I'm a big fan of the Marx Brothers, The 3 Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, and others and now definitely Joe E Brown. Well I can't really say that based on one semi short flick but man, if all of his films are THIS funny I'm in brother, I'm in! I knew I was going to like this flick when they are in the train. OK heres why this was refreshing for me, Joe is not a total dummy, he actually likes woman, and he tries to con people, everyone as a matter of fact, its just too cool. Plus the guy is like a ancient predecessor of Jim Carey for crying out loud, I'm sure Jim got some material from this guy! I was trying to place his face and thanks to the other posted review here I at least know him from Some Like It Hot, but as a lead comedian this movie REALLY holds up well. One of many scenes that made me laugh out loud, he is signing books as a fraud of the author, he is signing in all the woman's books his hotel room number! I mean I'm sorry I never saw that done before and its really funny! There's a little (not to much) slapstick, which I love, a little bit of adult stuff humor (which is classic, like getting drunk before his air race during prohibition, I think), but a whole lot of skit comedy that for me seemed great. 9 of 10, I wont put it in the esteemed best of all time category but I really did laugh a lot watching this.

Other than in SOME LIKE IT HOT, I have never been a huge fan of the comedies of Joe E. Brown. A few are amiable enough but none of them seem all that funny or memorable. This film manages to be a little less likable and interesting than most. Now if you ARE a rabid fan of Brown, then consider this as you read my review.Brown and his friend (who have almost no chemistry together as partners) wander into a town where everyone is expecting a famous author to arrive by train. However, the author inexplicably doesn't want all the adulation and the two guys are mistaken for the author. Why they decide to do this isn't at all clear--I guess they just read it in the script, as I could see no other reason for their going on this elaborate and later very dangerous ruse. For a while the two guys eat a lot of free meals and chase women and there seems to be no real direction for the film or laughs. However, in the end, Brown is convinced to enter an air race (even though he has no idea how to fly) and he somehow wins AND gets the girl--though NONE of this makes any sense at all and is accompanied by a lot of cheesy special effects (i.e., a rear projected screen)! The bottom line is that this is a time-passer and nothing more. If you are looking for laughs, you might find more in the average Boris Karloff film!