DUCK SOUP (1933)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Comedy / Musical

Director: Leo McCary

Cast: Groucho Marx / Harpo Marx / Chico Marx

Plot

The bankrupt nation of Freedonia names irresponsible and sarcastic Rufus T. Firefly as its latest dictator and he proceeds to lead them into war with Sylvania.

What I Liked

Matching well-rehearsed physical routines with hilarious one-liners, the Marx brothers create some of the most copied comedy moments in motion picture history in “Duck Soup.”  Delivering laughs at a frenetic pace, the movie is jam-packed with laughs of every kind.  There are the low brow fat jokes and slapstick; the staccato banter; Harpo’s absurd props; the wonderfully coreographed site gags; the parody of the movie musicals that were so popular in the ‘30s; and, most important to the film’s lasting legacy, the subversive but timely satire of nationalism and dictatorships.  There’s such variety, in fact, that it’s hard to imagine that someone will enjoy every single moment of “Duck Soup,” but certainly everyone can find something in it somewhere to make them laugh.  Few comedies can live up to that.

What I Didn’t Like

The frenetic pace I mentioned earlier can almost feel like an assault at times.  The jokes sometimes come in such a relentless barrage that one is bound to miss multiple laughs on the first viewing.  The level of concentration needed just to take it all in can be headache inducing.  What some would call zany could be called obnoxious by others, but for some that’s what is so endearing about the Marx brothers.  It’s a trademark of sorts.

Most Memorable Scene

As mentioned before there are multiple moments in the film that will be familiar even to a first time viewer simply because so many later films appropriated the comedy routines in this film as their own.  This is most true of the scene in which Harpo, dressed as Groucho, mimics his every move in a doorway to try and convince Groucho that he’s looking into a mirror.  It’s not the funniest moment of the film (that would be reserved for some of the tremendous one-liners uttered by Groucho and Chico), but it’s close and it is certainly the most artfully developed and enduring moment of the film.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5