Pure Old-School Cinematic Madness

Rating: 6/10 (25 October 2013)

Duck Soup would have been a bonafide comedic piece of art if it wasn't so damn frustrating.
The Marx Brothers on top of their game are zany, unpredictable, out-of-control, and full so many jokes, physical missteps and timely innuendo that you sometimes need to slow them down to catch everything. A modern equivalent would be Robin Williams at his stand-up prime. The Brothers do indeed deliver the laughs, they do indeed contain the necessary energy to motivate and drive a production---but if there isn't cooler heads providing some structure to the movie then you are in for a chaotic hour.
Enter Duck Soup.
Duck Soup is a whirlwind of jokes, satire, and little cherished moments that have stood the test of time and has cemented as a comedic classic amongst the contemporary film critics (because the reviews back in the 30s were a bit stagnant). However, there is absolutely no moment in which you see any progress towards a rising action, a climax, or a conclusion. Surely there is some humor to enjoy but the act gets a little tiring even with a shorter running time. You can assume that there is a writer and director all you want, but every viewer knows that the Marx Brothers had a firm grip on where the movie was going.
Marx Brothers would have been the greatest sketch comedy show in the history of mankind if they had their peak during television as opposed to peaking in stage and early post-silent film. Sadly, we'll never know. But their shtick is prime television material, but somewhat tougher to chew when translated into a lengthy motion picture. Can you imagine Saturday Night Live being 90 minutes? Chappelle Show being 90 minutes? Even Adult Swim programs being 90 minutes? It wouldn't work, even if the smaller pieces are funny and do entertain. This is arguably why Saturday Night Live movies (Outside of Blues Brothers and Wayne's World) never ever work.
The greatest comedies of all-time have their best moments interwoven with the plot. Even Caddyshack, a comedy that loosely connects to the main plot, still feels a little...organized. Duck Soup is like bringing a paintball gun that launches 900 pellets a second---surely most will hit but the rest will go flying everywhere. Jokes are all over this movie to a point you have to duck and cover. But unlike their better works like Night at the Opera, the Marx Brothers never give you a chance to recover, to breathe, to be brought back to earth. It is a good comedy, Groucho Marx once again uses his rapid-fire delivery and flawless comedic timing, but the entire ordeal can be quite nerve-wrecking to witness.