Duck Soup Reviews

This was easily the funniest thing I've watched in a long time. That is all, I love it so much

"I got a good mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it."

The Marx Brothers have been fondly remembered for several of their timeless comedy productions. Similar to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, their classic films are overflowing with terrific gags that are still hilarious even during the 21st Century.

On the topic of the best Marx Brothers picture many will agree that Duck Soup generally comes out on top. I strongly agree. Duck Soup was a massive failure at the box office when first released; despite this, I found the film to be excellent entertainment and one of the best classic comedies in cinematic history.

Be warned, though, that some might not find 30s humour to their liking. I absolutely adored the gags, but there will be some who disagree.

The country of Freedonia is in a financial mess. To save the country from bankruptcy a wealthy woman (Dumont) agrees to donate a large sum of money. But in return she requests that Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) takes charge of Freedonia. But mayhem erupts when Firefly takes charge; he is a stubborn, sadistic leader who refuses to play politics by the book.

To make matters worse, the country doesn't have a strong relationship with their neighbouring country Sylvania. The government of Sylvania decide to send agents in to recover top secret information (i.e. the country's war plans). When relationships worsen between Freedonia and Sylvania, Rufus declares war just for the hell of it.

Duck Soup is a film filled with plenty of wonderful set pieces. The laughs just never get old. Said laughs are a combination of witty dialogue and wonderful physical humour. My favourite gag of the film will always be the mirror sequence. I died with laughter when I was watching that scene.

There are several other physical gags that I will always love but don't do much for advancing the plot. Not that I'm complaining, though. What makes this classic a whole lot better than recent comedies by modern comedians is that there was focus and attention on actually developing a discernable plot rather than focusing on the laughs. The Marx Brothers found the perfect balance of developing a good plot as well as a heavy concentration on the great humour. The plot isn't groundbreaking, but at least it's actually present.

I liked the energetic performances from everyone in the cast. The four Marx Brothers present in the film give it 100% (the final film that featured all four brothers). It's obvious that some of the more complicated gags had to be thoroughly rehearsed. This just goes to show how focused they were in the days preceding a heavy reliance on special effects or cutting corners.

Groucho was the real stand out for me in the movie. Don't get me wrong - they are all tremendously good - but my favourite was definitely Groucho. He was just so sharp and funny! As a confused politician, he nails it. The gags are staged very well thanks to both the cast and the great directing as well.

Overall, Duck Soup is a classic and a fantastic movie. It's funny and very entertaining. Proof that 1930's humour is still funny after all these years.

I saw Duck Soup at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, IL. I'd seen it before - in fact, I own the DVD, but for some reason, it's infinitely funnier on the big screen. Maybe it's because the physical comedy is more obvious when it's bigger, or maybe it's the community atmosphere of a public theatre, but whatever it is, next time it's screened, I'll be the first person in line to see it.