Ditto.

What's interesting to me (especially in these times) is that nobody's mentioning how timely this movie is (in ways). Duck Soup is an anti-war statement. Does it hold together flawlessly? No. Plots weren't Marx Brothers specialty until the Thalberg days--beginning right after Duck Soup, I believe. Woody Allen's earlier movies were strings of gags held together by wispy plots.
Look at it as absurdist, anarchistic humor.
I'd always liked it, but didn't watch it for awhile. Just saw it recently and it spoke in a whole new voice.

[QUOTE=harpo787]>HONK

Now I ask you one. What is it has a trunk, but no key, weighs 2000 pounds and lives inna circus?

Nobody hated Marx Brothers movies more than Groucho. He was his own harshest critic. Check out "Groucho and Me" or his letters collections that have been published.

That's ir-relevant.

I just finished streaming this from Netflix, a first time viewing for me. I found the dialog-based humor was still sharp and entertaining, but most of the physical humor I found overlong and tedious. (For my money, no one has ever done physical comedy as well as the Stooges.) It was pretty easy to imagine an audience responding strongly to it, though, and I suspect that seeing it with a group of people generally leads to a more positive response than seeing it by yourself.

You have to add frat boy, gross out, sex jokes for DUCK SOUP to be funny to day's movie goers. Like start by changing the "D" to a "F" in the title.

As much as I love old movie comedians, like Keaton, Chaplin, W.C. Fields (a particular favorite), The Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, I was never much of a fan of the Marx Brothers. There's just something aggressive about them that isn't present in their peers. I can enjoy Groucho on his own, but his jokes fall flat at a high ratio (you can tell they probably worked better on stage). I love him on You Bet Your Life, though. I don't find Chico funny, (there are exceptions), and I despise Harpo. Harpo has this animalistic quality, he's pure id and I don't find it amusing. W.C. Fields also plays "unlikeable" characters, but the man is such a genius that he makes them vulnerable and likable on their own level. The Marx brothers just seem like douchebags most of the time. Like adult Katzenjammer Kids.

you forgot gratiutous frontal nudity ...

Good points and I kind of share your view. I was around when the Marx Bros. had their big revival in the late '60s and early '70s and the anarchic "fuck you" quality of their humor appealed a lot to the young men of that era. They messed with people just to mess with them, not for any larger purpose or deeper psychological need. Like you say, they "just seemed like douchebags," which reflected the behavior of a lot of the narcissists in the audience back then. (I'm not terribly nostalgic for anything in that era, aside from the abundance of movie theaters and some of the movies.) I saw my first Marx Bros. movie, ROOM SERVICE, on a double bill with the restored KING KONG in 1970. I later saw an all-night quadruple feature of THE COCOANUTS, MONKEY BUSINESS, HORSEFEATHERS, DUCK SOUP with a packed house and it was a great time. I always liked MONKEY BUSINESS and HORSEFEATHERS better than the other Marx Bros. films. DUCK SOUP always seemed like a glorified anti-war skit, which is partly why it was so popular during the era of anti-Vietnam protest.

It's funny how relevant this is to DVDTalk!

Too true. I thought of a better comparison than Katzenjammer. The Marx bros are kind of like Woody Woodpecker. They are basically dicks for the sake of being dicks. That can be funny or not, depending. I can see how that appealed to college students during their revival.

Thank god this was a thread bump. I thought bhk had come back.

I just finished reading Roy Blount's book on Duck Soup ("Hail Hail Euphoria"). It's not bad. It's essentially like a DVD commentary. He gives a play-by-play of the film, and offers analysis and little trivia nuggets as he goes along. As a long time fan of the movie, I found it interesting, but not essential. I do recommend watching it right before reading the book.

I'm not falling for your ploy to rack up on royalties.

How do you watch a book?

It's not easy, especially if you're inside a dog.

"All I can offer you is a Rufus over your head" is maybe my favorite line ever uttered in a film.

"Ah, I can see you right now, bending over a hot stove....only I can't see the stove."

"We have to fight for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did!"

"Where is your husband?"
"Why, he's dead."
"I bet he's just using that as an excuse."

Love it.

^ Like I said, the dialog-based humor I found enjoyable. It was the physical comedy that I found tedious.

Even the scene where Groucho and Harpo mirror each other? That is probably the single greatest bit of physical comedy ever filmed.

The sequence itself I found clever and largely amusing, but coming as late in the story as it did I began to wonder when it would eventually conclude and get back to the admittedly thin plot. I have a rather short attention span for physical gags, though.

Lucy re-did that with Harpo on "I Love Lucy" some 20 years later. It was a much shorter version of it.

I saw this for the 2nd time last year during the "Movies in the Park" program that Chicago does every summer. It was in Grant Park, along Lake Shore Drive and started at dusk. I think Richard Roeper was there to introduce the film. We (the crowd) also set the record for most Groucho masks on at one time. The park district gave out a Groucho mask to every one in attendance. Was lots of fun, but I didn't think it was the funniest thing I'd seen. Many lines were great though. I did enjoy it much more this time, but that might have been due to the fact that we were having a picnic with wine and with a ton of people in the park. Did I mention wine?

I had seen it when I was maybe 10. My brothers loved the Marx Brothers ( they were 13, 12, and 10), but I never really enjoyed them. I also disliked Harpo so much.