review by Adam Moody
Duck Soup 1933
Watched Aug 16, 2012
Adam Moody’s review:
A disappointing introduction to the Marx Brothers' brand of humor. Within the modest 70-minute run time, their simplistic slapstick and crude humor is repetitive and works inconsistently. You have to give Groucho, Chico, and Harpo some credit for the energy they bring to the table. They keep a constant assault of jokes and gags, with some hitting home with hilarious results. The mirror scene being an example of improvised delivery perfection. They work best when in scenes together, the second they separate everything becomes unfocused and downright stupid. Lacking any intelligent commentary to go with their half-hearted attempts at satire. Chaplin and Keaton mastered similar comedic styles, but with the absence of sound they had to perfect the art of slapstick - with the use of their surroundings, clever set-organizations, and natural performances. The Marx Brothers are running solely on the appeal of their chaotically interesting personalities, but they fail to entertain for the entirety of a feature-length film. I began to lose interest more often, and the laughs dwindled to being almost non-existent, to the point where I was just waiting for it to end. You could get the delight of the experience simply by looking up a few choice scenes up on the internet, and you could get more worth for your time by watching virtually anything by Chaplin or Keaton.
Thursday was a double header, nobody show up
A lot I disagree with here, especially the idea that the satire has no intelligent commentary. Europe was ludicrously building to war again at the time barely 15 years after the Great War, and there is a lot of fun being poked at political egos.
There's also a scene of implied bestiality with a horse.
Honestly I've found a lot to love in it viewing after viewing after viewing. You may find Day at the Races or Night at the Opera more fun (Zeppo usually slows things down, but I think is fine in Duck Soup), but if this didn't do it for you I guess the Marx Brothers will never be your thing.
I agree with it acknowledging the conflicting politics of Europe, but I see it as simply an acknowledgment, not really anything smart. And I don't really see what's the greatness within implied bestiality. I will check out some of the other stuff some time, but there comedic style is overly aggressive, and during its 70-minute length it becomes pretty obnoxious and doesn't generate that many laughs. Like I said, Chaplin and Keaton have very similar comedic styles and their's are superior in every respect. But this is my first Marx Brothers film, so maybe I will be charmed by one of their others.
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@Deus is right that some of their other stuff holds up better over the course of a film. These early movies are really just excuses to string together their vaudeville acts -- kind of like an SNL movie.
I happen to think their stuff is very funny. The Chico speech @Rick quotes is one of their more brilliant ones. But it's not to everyone's taste, for sure.