Musashi94
Fueled by some truly inspired gags and absolutely biting satire, Duck Soup is the Marx Brothers' best work and one of the greatest comedies of all time. The plot sees Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) become leader of the vaguely European nation of Freedonia as he plunges his country into war with the neighboring Sylvania – for no good reason – while being menaced by a pair of Sylvanian spies (Harpo Marx and Chico Marx).As with most Marx Brothers films, the plot is pretty much an excuse for gags, one-liners and satirical observations on human society; however, this particular story gives the brothers a treasure trove of material from which to draw on. Although some of their other films can feel a bit padded, Duck Soup never feels overlong, in large part thanks to the fact that every scene is so chock full of rich comedic material.A lot of the credit for this goes to the film's director, Leo McCarey. Although just a hired hand for Paramount comedy shorts at the time, he would go on to direct classics like Make Way for Tomorrow and An Affair to Remember. His skill as a director helps to keep the pacing brisk while also helping to get the best out of each of the brothers. McCarey is also responsible for the iconic mirror scene, which has been oft-imitated but never equaled.One of the Marx Brothers biggest strengths is the variety of their style of humor. In comedic terms, there's a little something for everyone. Groucho with his urbane wit, Harpo for slapstick and Chico playing dim-witted tricksters. Zeppo (in his final film appearance) is also present in his usual straight-man role. Each of the brothers is arguably at their best in Duck Soup leading to hilarious set-pieces such as the legendary mirror scene to the absurdist battle scenes at the climax, with Groucho wearing a different – and ridiculous – military uniform each time the camera cuts away complete with some absolutely savage take downs of war, patriotism and the concept of heroism.If the mark of greatness for a comedy lies in its ability to make practically anyone laugh, Duck Soup stands in my mind as one of the absolute greatest comedies of all time. Filled with wit and general hilarity, it remains one of the crown jewels of comic filmmaking.
grantss
The country of Freedonia is in the middle of a financial crisis and on the brink of revolution. In order to gain a bail-out from the wealthy Mrs Teasdale, the government appoints Rufus T Firefly (Groucho Marx) as its president. However, Mr Firefly shuns the pomp and pretentiousness of government...and the prudence and rationality of it too. Meanwhile, the neighbouring country of Sylvania is plotting to overthrow Freedonia and sends Pinky (Harpo Marx) and Chicolini (Chico Marx) to spy on Firefly. War seems inevitable.Starring the Marx Brothers and viewed as a comedy classic, I was expecting great things from Duck Soup. However, while it has its moments, it was largely a disappointment for me.Having seen several of their previous movies, I knew what to expect. However, even then, this movie seemed quite silly. The others revolved around Groucho's quickfire wit and Chico and Harpo's slapstick comedy and Duck Soup is no exception. However, here it seems less clever than the best of the others, especially A Night At The Opera and A Day At The Races. Here, Groucho's witticisms wander into the territory of dad jokes and Harpo and Chico's clowning is often quite silly. The plot is okay, though not brilliant. Hardly the powerful anti- war and political satire movie it is made out to be.This all said, there are some great laugh-out-loud moments and these are enough to sustain the movie.
ironhorse_iv
I'm sorry to say this, but this movie is kinda overrated. When you compare it to the other Marx Brother's films; it's not that funny. Honestly, in my opinion, the only reason why this movie is well-remember, is because of the memorable mirror gag. The concept of the mirror gag isn't new, at all. After all, Charlie Chaplin used a similar joke in 1916's film, the Floorwalker. While, this might be the best known appearance of the joke, the rest of the film doesn't live up, in value. Directed by Leo McCarey, and set in the fantasy bankrupt world of Freedonia, Duck Soup tells the story of the country leader, Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) declaring war on neighboring bankrupt Sylvania, so that he can win, the love of wealthy widow Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) in a last ditch attempt to keep his country afloat. Without spoiling the movie too much, I found the premise to be, very jarring. I can understand, why this movie didn't do so good, during the Great Depression. Audiences at the time, were taken aback by such preposterous political disregard, buffoonery, and cynicism at a time of economic and political crisis that many didn't bother to see it. A lot of those people didn't like how the movie compare nationalism to a minstrel show. The satirical depiction of Freedonia is said to have led then, Dictator Benito Mussolini to ban the film in Italy. Despite that, the movie wasn't a box office bomb as some people saw it. It did pretty well, despite mixed results from critics and trouble production. Although this by itself, did not end the group's business with Paramount. Bitter contract disputes indeed, did the group in. After the film was done, the Marx Brothers and Paramount agreed to part ways. Despite playing different characters with different names, the Marx Brothers are pretty much, playing their stereotypical stage act selves in their roles. There's Groucho that has the anarchic wise guy with the drawn-on moustache. He has some of the funniest zingers, insults, and comebacks. His chemistry with Margaret Dumont are some of the best. Then there is Chico who plays likable Italian stereotype in every role. He has some funny bits, here. Then, there is Harpo, the mute, childish, slightly annoying one, there for kid appeal. Sadly, this was the last Marx Brothers film to feature Zeppo. Zeppo knows for playing the traditional straight man, quit movie acting, overall, due to being the butt of jokes regarding him as the "unfunny" Marx brother. Anyways, don't look for anything new from them. They just going with what talent, got them to the show. The movie story isn't that great as well. It's often very complex, and doesn't make any sense. I know that war was still a profitable business, back then, but how is having a bunch of people kill each other, over a silly reason, supposed to be funny? It's doesn't sound, funny. Anyways, it gets more confusing, when Harpo and Chico are found to be spies for Sylvania, but they able choose to fight for Freedonia, instead. It's hard to tell, where this movie is going for, between the spies business and them, trying to anger another street vendor. Also, why were they acting like dicks to that street vendor!? It's not like, he did anything wrong to them. Don't get me wrong, there were some funny moments. I did like how film pokes fun at the Hays Code by showing a woman's bedroom and then showing a woman's shoes on the floor, a man's shoes and horseshoes. Then it cut away to Harpo sleeping in the bed with the horse; the woman is in the twin bed next to them. That was somewhat funny, but overall, it was really dated humor. Another problem with this film is the musical numbers. The musical numbers, didn't really match well with the rest of the story. The first musical number in the film that accompanies Firefly's first day in office really wasn't needed, and felt too similar to the one that introduce Groucho's character in 1932's Horsefeathers. I didn't find it to be the worst. The worst had to be; the trial scene turning into an absurd musical number. That was really out of place. It wasn't really funny, it was just really odd. Anyways, breaking with their usual pattern, neither Harpo's harp nor Chico's piano is used in the film. Although Harpo briefly pretends to play harp on the strings of a piano, strumming chords in accompaniment to a music box that is playing the unlikely chime tune of 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf", " from rival studio, Disney's Three Little Pigs, released the same year as Duck Soup. The songs got even worst, as the movie went on. One line in a variant on the old Negro spiritual 'All God's Chillun Got Wings' was cut out, from the film's current DVD release, due to its offending nature to African Americans. In my opinion, it's a product of its time, and should had been kept in the film. I just glad, the DVD didn't felt like censoring any more scenes. Anyhow, most copies of the film are pretty good copies. There are hardly any grains or film dirt in most DVDs. The DVD releases are in HD and worth checking out. It has tons of special features, worth watching. Overall: While, it's not quite as good as its predecessor. This is still a highlight in the Marxian filmography. It's a must watch
