Duck Soup

source: Duck Soup

Very likely their best film. This is pure surrealism from start to finish, with some of their best-executed routines, and a welcome absence of (serious) musical numbers. Whether it has Harpo answering the phone, Groucho explaining his tax policy or Chico giving a detailed report of his weekly surveillance tactics ("On Wednesday we fool him: We no show up"), this is the epitome of the Marx Brothers movies. And here's one of the funniest lines that nobody else has mentioned: "Ok, I give up. How about your glass of water?" (well, it's only funny in context). (***)

Duck Soup(1933) is the funniest and most entertaining comedy that I've seen in my life. It was the last film the Marx Brothers would do for Paramount before going over to MGM. Duck Soup is an anarchic comedy where the main characters never live by the rules and rebel as a result. The Marx Brothers put out some of the greatest comedies that rarely has been matched. It is a satire about the nature of war, politics, and affairs of the state. Duck Soup(1933) is a great example of a film that can easily induce a person into bursts of laughter.

Many will say that Airplane or anything by Woody Allen rates this summary but I strongly disagree. There are very few pleasures on earth as hearing Groucho insult people, Chico's murder of the English language, or seeing Harpo's physical comedy. In this movie you have it all. From Groucho's entrance in the first scene to the bombing of the shelter while defending Margaret Dumont's "honor", there is not one slow moment. Like the great screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s, this movie does not require special effects or offensive dialogue to make it watchable over and over again. The only thing that this movie does require is your attention and a quick finger on the rewind button. (For when you miss something, and on the first viewing you will) All in all, this is the all time best comedy, political or otherwise.

Everyone remembers the mirror scene, but in case you've forgotten the plot, here it is: Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) becomes leader of Freedonia and decides to declare war on neighboring Sylvania just for fun. Naturally, Groucho cracks a series of serious-then-wacky jokes, Chico mangles words, and Harpo is silly every step of the way. Along with the mirror scene, another hilarious scene is the hat-switching scene with a short-tempered peanut vendor. Obviously, the Marx Brothers always engaged in anarchic humor, but this one is so good because of how they mock the power structure, militarism, and everything such. It's an A+.

Ditto to all the positive comments, but in these days of Homeland Security II (how many people know that "PATRIOT" Act is an acronym?), I must call special attention to the very end of the movie, after the leaders have led the citizens of Fredonia in the satirical call-and-response that has the common crowd following the jackass-kicks of their president. As Margaret Dumont begins to sing the national anthem after the country's entirely accidental, the Marxes pelt her with apples, a fitting fate for any knee-jerk patriot. This was one of the more extreme expressions of the American stage and screen that saw the Gershwins taking the United States into war against Switzerland over cheese in "Strike up the Band" and setting the Vice President up for execution in "Of Thee I Sing." It's a wonder that the FBI didn't seize the film during World War II as they did copies of the Almanac Singers' "Songs for John Doe." (Recall that Abraham Lincoln had Septimus Winner, composer or "Listen to the Mockingbird" and "Ten Little Indians" jailed as a subversive under his suspension of habeas corpus for writing a song criticizing the firing of Gen. George McClellan, who was popular enough to pose a threat to Lincoln in the 1864 election.) Let's hope that the current administration never notices that this was one of the first movies to make the National Film Registry.

The movie was nowhere near most of the reviews which I had read: "Greatest comedy of all time " etc hype. What we get is a slightly below average comedy. Harpo should be put before a firing squad in freedonia for not being in the least bit funny,the same goes for Chico. Their comedy routines together are forced and didn't get one laugh from me - Even the so called classic Lemonade hat sketch left me cold, as did their earlier bit in the Ambassador's office. Some of Groucho's one liners are funny but on the whole I find the Marx brothers leave me cold in this movie. Give me Laurel and Hardy any day - Now, they're funny!

It's a shame to level any criticism at a so called classic but for me this hasn't weathered well and perhaps the only reason I may have enjoyed it as a kid was because it was suggested it couldn't be faulted - we believe what we're told without question at that age. Watching it back I find no humour in the juvenile wit, nothing to make me smile, that Harpo is the most irritating character I've encountered in film and that the sophistication in dialogue of the world today is a universe away from this childish chore. I'm more curious, although I'll never know, if my perspectives would be the same in 90 years time with the things that make me chuckle today - but that's the curse of existence.

All the comedies in which the Marx Brothers appeared were extensions of their vaudeville days. In "Duck Soup", the visual gags that worked so well on the stage are incorporated into the film. Director Leo McCarey directed this zany movie in which the Marx Brothers do their best to entertain their public. There are many interesting moments in the film, but the best sequence has to be the mirror scene in which Groucho, Harpo and Chico, dressed in the same costume are seen on either side of the looking glass following the other person's movements. The other asset in the film is the final conflict with Sylvania in which Groucho is seen dressed in many uniforms while leading the war against the enemy. We had seen this film before, but took another look when it was shown on cable recently. The great Margaret Dumont is simply one of the best actresses that ever worked with the Marx Brothers in their comedies. She is amazing in playing the straight part against Groucho's antics. A young Louis Calhern cuts quite a figure as the Trentino, the Sylvanian ambassador to Freedonia. Raquel Torres is a nice addition to the film playing the exotic Vera Marcal. The Marx Brothers do what they do best in "Duck Soup" guided by a director who knew what to do with them, Leo McCarey.

Being as highly rated as it is, I expected Duck Soup to be a very enjoyable and very funny film. This was not the case for me though. Although I have nothing against the people who enjoyed this film, I cannot deny how terrible I thought it was. Let me explain: Firstly the characters. I have to ask, what characters? Honestly, there seems to be absolutely no character depth at all. It's just guys walking around making jokes. Take Groucho Marx for example, all he seems to do is make insulting jokes towards people. The main problem for me is that the jokes are not funny at all. And I can admit there were lines which I thought could have been remotely funny had they only been done by a funny character. Groucho's character just seems blank to me. Then there's also Harpo Marx, who simply goes around cutting things and annoying people. He doesn't even talk. I don't see how he can even be classified as a character personally. To be blunt, I found this movie boring. In just 20 minutes into the film, I felt so sleepy I had to go to bed. I wasn't tired before the movie nor should I have been. I didn't tire myself out that day at all, and it wasn't even late, but watching this film made me so bored I wanted to go to bed. I did watch this movie a couple of days later, just to see if I somehow missed the humour at the start and also to see if it got any funnier after wards. I didn't expect much, and I didn't get much. I found it purely boring and unfunny, but I did stay awake this time. Actually I didn't even get tired, but I simply must say that this movie is one of the most boring films I've ever seen. Although there is good choreography in some scenes, such as the famous mirror scene, it still lacks any funny humour. It just seems to go nowhere, and the problem is, had the characters been funny, I might have enjoyed that scene more, but as it is, I say it's quite weak. As for other scenes, well most of them are just unfunny in my opinion. This is definitely not the worst film I've seen but it may very well be the most overrated one.