Great for the Marx fans

Rating: 9/10 (28 November 2013)

This movie is without doubt one of the best Marx movies - for those who have seen a few before. It failed at the box office, and many reviews here at IMDb, mostly from people who never saw a Marx movie before, are not very positive.
This all makes sense if you think about it. Duck Soup has an unusually high tempo, several very well done scenes. The plot is questionable, but Marx movies are not about plot. But with that tempo, you really need to be used to the Marx concept. If you are, you will have a really good time.
But if you are not so used to Marx, I would say that the ones to start with are "A night at the opera" or "A day at the races". The latter was my favorite as a child, and even after watching all Marx movies, they are still on par with Duck Soup for me.
Duck Soup is a good comedy, but I don't think it deserves to be called the best of all time. My prime alternatives for that prize are The Great Dictator, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Blues Brothers. The Great Dictator is really the one to compare to, also being a political comedy. I do like Duck Soup, it is an iconic movie, but as a parody of politics and war, how can it match Chaplin's finest hour?