Refreshingly light

Rating: 8/10 (20 January 2012)

IMDb Top 250: 235
Well here is a pleasant little surprise of film that one can enjoy anytime. Duck Soup is a brilliant piece of comedy that doesn't demand much thinking, but it itself has brains.
What could the plot of a film called Duck Soup be about? War, apparently. And smartasses. And buffoons. Honestly, the best thing you could do to prepare yourself for this film is to not care about the plot because it's not important. The plot practically plays out like an elementary school drama game, where everyone in a circle adds one word and a story is formed. This is not a detriment: the dialogue and actions are the star here.
Before this I had never seen a Marx Brother film, so all the ideas here were new to me, and there's a good chance they're new to you. Three Marx brothers (Groucho, Harpo, and Chico) play well-developed serial characters: a smartass, a mute, and an Italian stereotype (the relative "straight" character) and they're hilarious. Especially since everything else in the film plays like a plain-ol' film, these ridiculous personalities stick out like a sore thumb. Firefly's one-liners and general attitude are a clear precursor to Alvy Singer in Annie Hall, and Pinky's obsession with snipping and flamethrowers is really charming and funny. Here the two pillars of comedy are covered, physical and word. Chico is in the middle, dipping his feet in both ideas.
I don't want to spoil any of the gags, but they come fast and often. Maybe even too often, as you'll definitely miss a few. There's not exactly a big commitment here either: the film is just over an hour long, and is as nonsensical as the title from start to finish. I was thinking of World War I allegories throughout, but afterwards I read a comment by Groucho, essentially saying its just for jokes. So be political if you like, but here is a comedy that has as little brain as it has brain. It'll make for a fun hour. 8.3/10