We think we're going to war!

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2008)

*Duck SPOILERS*
Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) becomes the new Governor of Freedonia, and things start quickly to go right down the drain in the funniest, most whimsical way, especially when Firefly starts courting Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont), a rich widow who donated $20 million to Freedonia's cause.
The country ends up going to war with a neighbor country, Sylvania, and the war won't stop until Sylvania's scheming Ambassador Trentino (Louis Calhern) is caught by Firefly, his assistant (Zeppo Marx in his last appearance in a Marx Brothers Movie), and two former spies of his, who now have switched sides (Harpo Marx and Chico Marx).
This is the plot, threadbare as it is; the genius of this movie (which bombed when it opened in theaters, go figure) is interweaving the subtle satire with some of the funniest physical (the mirror gag, the aborted trips of Gov. Firefly, and the very end, in which a knee-jerk patriotic act by Mrs. Teasdale is rewarded by the Marx brothers with a rain of apples on her are a few examples) and dialog (at Chicolini's trial, Firefly declares 'This guy may act like an idiot and look like an idiot, but don't be fooled; he really is an idiot!') comedy moments of all time.
This is probably the Marx brothers at their funniest; see to believe.
Italian Title: La Guerra Lampo Dei Fratelli Marx (The Marx Brothers' Lightning War) Duck Soup: 9/10