"... and that's why darkies were born."

Rating: 7/10 (23 March 2008)

It's possible to argue that this line from Duck Soup - and a later parody of minstrel songs - were attempts to satirise racial stereotyping. After all, Groucho's line was a nonsensical reference to a hit song of the same year, highlighting the absurdity of such a song.
What is perhaps harder to argue (though frequently is) is that Duck Soup is any kind of political satire. As Groucho himself famously said, the brothers were "just four Jews trying to get a laugh". While the film does serve as a political farce, many of the targets seem to be touched upon by proxy, the movie's real purpose being only to keep viewers amused.
This is where Duck Soup admirably succeeds, as a continuous stream of good to great material is served up by Groucho (the funny, wise-cracking one with the moustache), Chico (the slightly less funny but likable one), Harpo (the deeply irritating one) and Zeppo (the er... other one).
However, one thing that must be noted is that the pace to the Brothers' films are often a little out of kilter by modern standards. The brothers work well together, but the guest cast never seem to be able to quite keep up with Groucho's machine gun approach to telling gags. As a result, every one liner is followed by an awkward pause as he waits for the others to catch up. The timing could have been trimmed in the editing suite, but it would have left a vastly shorter picture.
Without a wholly satisfactory climax - this still in their pre-MGM, freefalling days - then the film does seem to abruptly end somewhat, leaving one to wonder how it has come to be regarded as an all-time classic of cinema. It's an excellent film, no doubt, and a very funny one, but its journey from initial mixed reviews to modern day canonisation is sometimes a little puzzling.