Simply the Best

Rating: 10/10 (16 February 2007)

When you can take the insanity of war and put it out there with all that is the Marx Brothers, you have "Duck Soup." Many wars are about feelings of impotence. They are about world leaders striking out against others. Take these posturing idiots and substitute Groucho and you can see the utter ridiculousness of some wars. One should watch this movie and then take a look at what goes on in Washington every day. The wisecracking, honking, malapropistic mess leads to confrontations. We even have a president right now who would be at home with the Marx Brothers. He and Chico could debate, using words we've not heard before. As a movie, this is hilarious. Like most of the boys' movies there are constant distractions, puns, posturing, and insanity. The mirror scene is astonishing and has been copied so many times. And, of course, Margaret Dumont (who apparently never got the jokes) is there for Groucho to antagonize. Take the time to review the Marx Brothers canon. There are a couple clinkers, but this, along with "Animal Crackers" and "A Night at the Opera" are not just funny. They are among the best moves ever made.