Released in 1933
American
Black and white
68 minute run time
Directed by Leo McCarey
Starring: Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo, Chico Marx
(watched via streaming on Netflix - I LOVE Netflix, what did people do before it existed?)
The Plot Basically Breaks Down Like This: Groucho Marx becomes leader of this country somewhere probably in Europe. He makes jokes and pokes fun at people and everyone thinks he's swell except the not-so-nefarious villain who wants to be in charge instead. So the villain plots things, some that work out and some that fail spectacularly, and eventually the country goes to war and people are dirty and raggedy looking but they still find time to be funny.
My Thoughts Break Down Like This: Did you know there were four Marx brothers? I didn't until watching Duck Soup. For some reason I had it in my head that there were only three, like the Stooges only funnier (I don't much care for the Three Stooges, I find them too repetitive and annoying). Really I suppose I should have known about Zeppo, considering I'm a big fan of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series and the character Xander is labeled the group's Zeppo more than once. But as I'd never seen a Marx Brothers film before Duck Soup, it just didn't click in my head. ANYWAYS. It turns out there are four, not three, brothers Marx, and they are much, MUCH, funnier than the Stooges. Between sight gags and spoken jokes, I laughed from about two minutes in until the end of the film. It was so clever and so quick and so well done that I couldn't help but be impressed. I wish I'd seen this alot sooner. Maybe not back in the 1930s as I wasn't even two cells to rub together yet. But certainly sooner than 2010.
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