Duck Soup

1959.

#85 / #60

Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) becomes leader of Freedonia. After insulting the ambassador of Sylvania, he puts the two countries on a collision course for war.

Eddie: I hated this movie. Hate, hate, hated it. Not only did I find it unfunny, but I have also started to seriously question my judgment of Sarah, who adores the Marx Brothers. Plot is non-existent. Any semblance of emotion is completely absent. All we're left with are mile-a-minute zingers and zany antics. Oh, and Margaret Dumont.

Sarah: Well I hate, hate, hate watching the Marx Brothers with Eddie. He doesn't get it. He is like the one person not having fun at a circus. Look, the Marx Brothers are not trying to make you question life. They're trying to make you laugh. It's refreshing to see a movie solely supported by zingers, slapstick, and the unsinkable Margaret Dumont. Can't some films on the list just be fun?

I think this is one of their best films. It has twice the jokes and gags, but no opera scenes. And though there is no plot, I feel in this one case, that's ok. It's just the Marx Brothers carrying on.

Eddie: I hate the circus, too.

Why You Should See It: The mirror scene. It is the Marx brothers at their silliest and most delightful.

A Night at The Opera

1935.

Unlisted / #85

Otis B. Driftwood (Groucho Marx) helps Ricardo (Allan Jones) realize his dream of becoming an opera star with the assistance of Fiorello (Chico Marx) and Tomasso (Harpo Marx).

Sarah: I'm a big Marx brothers fan, but I'll be objective and say, I am not sure why this was added to the list. The story is not great, and it does not have the political undertones of DUCK SOUP or it's laughs.

Still, I'm a fan, and once you fast-forward through the opera songs, there is a lot of good stuff. I cracked up the whole time while looking at Eddie, making a face that says "Isn't this great!?" He, however, looked a little bewildered, so, Eddie take it away!

Eddie: Bewildered is a kind way of putting it. This is my first foray into the Marx Brother's films, and I feel like I just didn't get it.

Sure, I recognize that Groucho and Chico (my favorite Marx Brother) are funny, and there are a few gags that genuinely made me laugh. But the plot of the movie as a whole seems so antiquely vaudevillian that it's amazing that audiences didn't reject it as outdated, even upon its 1935 release. People excuse the Marx Brothers' juvenile humor as business as usual for that era in comedy, but I entirely disagree. One year after A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, Chaplin released MODERN TIMES, a comedy that still holds up today.

Why You Should See It: The switching the beds gag.