 Duck Soup
Mirror image or impostor? Introduction: This is arguably the most plot heavy of all the Marx Brothers movies. I say arguably, because I think I remember The Big Store having a fairly heavy story. In my review of Monkey Business I stated that the plots in Marx Brothers films come second to their antics. Here is an exception. The plot is actually the central focus of the movie and the antics are secondary. Plot Overview: The Brothers' take a surprising political turn with this release, and it's pretty biting. They spoof war and the leaders who wage it. Groucho Marx plays Rufus T. Firefly, the newly appointed president of a fictitious East European country called Freedonia. He doesn't know the first thing about running the country, and he even says so in the lyrics of a song: The last man nearly ruined this place,
The neighboring country Slovenia is intent on taking over the country, and one of its ambassadors uses a couple of inept spies (Chico and Harpo) to learn some of the president's dirty secrets. As the plot escalates, the nations are getting closer to war. More than anything, it's because Groucho overreacts to everything, no matter how irrelevant, that the Slovenian ambassador says. (Groucho is especially fond of slapping him with a glove). And so WAR breaks loose-----a completely unnecessary one at that. Commentary: Undoubtedly many contemporary viewers will love comparing the plot to 00's current events. It's amazing the satire continues to be sharp 70 years after its conception. Despite the plot and satire qualities, this is a Marx Brothers movie first and foremost. And it wouldn't be a classic Marx Brothers movie if it wasn't filled to the brim with their classic antics. As a matter of fact, the most memorable sequence does little to advance the plot. It involves Chico and Groucho manning a peanut stand, and they are at-odds with a man at a neighboring lemonade stand. It's pretty mean-spirited (I suppose these guys have always been mean spirited) but hillllllllllllllarious. (Come to think of it, this seen mimics the movie's overall plot.) The hat-switching sequence, especially, is genius. Also a scene that sticks out in mind was Chico and Harpo both dressing up like Groucho, which causes all sorts of confusion. (And they are the splitting image ... you can tell why these actors had to adopt such starkly different stage personas so nobody would ever get them confused.) I won't tell you how the movie ends, but they save one of the biggest laughs for last. Be sure you don't fall asleep! You might also notice that the same joke is used in Animal House, which produced one of that movie's most memorable scenes. Trivia, etc. This is one of the few Marx Brothers movies not to feature a piano performance by Chico and a harp performance by Harpo. I have nothing against either of their musical performances, but they generally tend to slow down the pace of their movies. And I think it's for the best. This is an unyeilding flow of comedy. It does contains song and dance sequences, but they're largely entertaining and funny. I was always told that this movie was a box office flop, which was why The Marx Brothers never tackled a project so topical ever again. However, according to Wikipedia, it was actually a box office hit although it didn't do as well as many of their other films. You almost don't notice it because you lose track of time, but this movie is only 68 minutes long. That's not a drawback. That just means this is a chunk of pure comedy without any filler to get in the way. They make up for that anyway, because the rapid-fire jokes come at you so quickly that you can watch it five times and still not quite catch everything. Movies with such rewatchability value are always appealing to me. Concluding Remarks: Obviously, Duck Soup is as gut-busting as The Marx Brothers have always been. That combined with a topical plot makes it not only one of the Brothers' best films, but one of the best films ever made. (Well, that's the critical consensus anyway, but I agree with it wholeheartedly.) It's definitely one of my personal favorites. Date reviewed: April 4, 2007 FINAL SCORE: A+
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