Highly OVERRATED

This just may be my opinion but I think that the WORST of the Marx Bros. films are
100% better than the best of any other comedy films. Especially the cr*p that comes out today.

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I understand felix's opinion. This is a very funny movie, but like he says, it looks very forced. They are trying very hard, and of course since they're so funny, it still works, but it isn't the magical flowing comedy of their better films.

It appears many on imdb think otherwise, since this is rated so high on this website. I'm not sure if most voters really feel this is a top Marx Brothers work, or they simply go by reputation, and attribute their best gags to this film, even though they aren't in this film.

Still, I sense I'm in a minority. To me, ROOM SERVICE, AT THE CIRCUS, and A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is their heyday. These are just non stop laughs. Duck Soup has a very "contrived" looking script. I still like it, and prefer it over 90% of comedies I have seen in the last quarter century, but it isn't their classic style, IMO.


JFK blown away, what more do I have to say?

Well, I just read from some review that Duck Soup is "the Marx film where all of the jokes hit the mark" and that definitely isn´t true as far as I´m concerned - I´d say at least about a quarter of their stuff comes off as inane and obvious... and even the bits that do work, tend to be less hilarious than the movie´s reputation suggests. And, yeah, sometimes they´re definitely pushing too hard to get a laugh. Plus the blond Harpo guy is REALLY obnoxious and annoying, even though admittedly pretty slick at some forms of physical comedy. Overall hardly deserving more than a rating of 7,5/10 or so.



"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

I agree with the OP. I read that this is the movie to watch if one wants to know what the Marx Bros are all about. I watched it on cable couple of years ago and thought it was highly over rated. Like others I felt like these guys were trying way to hard to be funny instead of just being funny. Groucho was ok, but the other guys were just so not funny to me.

I grew up watching Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, and Monty Python. When I got older I wanted to see some other greats and read that Keaton, Lloyd, Abbot and Costello, and the Marx Bros. Out of all those, I thought the Marx Bros were the most overrated. Heaving read this thread I might give some of their other movies a try, but having seen Duck Soup which was so highly regarded turned me off to seeking their other films. Now that I read this thread I will try and seek out the films recommended here which those who did not like Duck Soup consider highly superior to this one.

PS. Although some of the posters saying that you just don't get it, turns me off. I GET IT! (Are these the same intellectual frauds who say the same thing about Prometheus and The Hungers Games? I get it and it sucks!) It's just not funny! Same way with Jerry Lewis, these guys just try way to hard. Comedy should come naturally, not forced. Kind of reminds me of my father, laughing at his own stupid jokes, like everything he says is supposed to be funny while others around him just roll their eyes.

Watched this yesterday, and I have to agree. A couple of ok jokes, the rest is boring.. or maybe just not my cup of tea

I have to agree, Although in today's top 100 charts of funny movies Duck Soup is ranked higher than any of their other films at the time of their release it was a flop in the box office. In my opinion it is not the worst Marx Brothers film (see Room Service) but it is one of the most forced comedies I think the Marx Brothers ever made. It has some shinning moments such as the mirror scene or the lemonade stand but for the most part the over the time music numbers and the plot line killed what could have been a great comedy. I do believe the are desperately try to go back to the days of Animal Crackers and Monkey Business but do not know how to do so.

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