Review of Duck Soup (1933) by Chrismizerak — 10 Jan 2020

Let’s not kid ourselves here. You didn’t think I forgot about “Duck Soup” for this list after having just praised “A Night at the Opera”, did you? No, you didn’t think so. In the years that I have been seeing films, perhaps no other film made me laugh harder than “Duck Soup”.

If ever there was a comedy that proved that you don’t need juvenile excremental humor or excessive swearing to show off your comedic chops, then this film was easily it. The Marx brothers have never been better in their film career than here.

Everyone keeps talking about the mirror scene and how well the two Marx brothers mimic each other’s movements. That’s a great scene. But how about the lemonade stand scene? That is the scene that definitely made me laugh the hardest because it perfectly captures the spirit of the Marx brothers’ years at Paramount.

Relying on a sense of randomness and madness both at the same time, it didn’t matter who was the good guy, the bad guy, or even just a normal person just passing by. If it perfectly fits the joke and comedic payoff they’re going for, no one was safe from Groucho, Chico or Harpo’s Mad Hatter antics.

And that’s what I think makes their humor continue to stand out to this day. Even within the parameters of not going too far or too vulgar with their arsenal of comedic banter or physical slapstick, they were willing to do pretty much anything to get a laugh.

They are willing to do things in such a way, as they did with this film, that it feels as if they’re making everything up as they go along. And this is the key factor as to why “Duck Soup” continues to impress me now more than ever.

Regardless if this was the case or not, this film serves as one of those rare examples of film comedies that feel like they’re improvising everything as they went along but somehow are able to stick the landing.

You could make a pat argument that only the Monty Python crew or Mel Brooks himself were the closest to repeating this same feat since then. Every quip or spoken word of dialogue within this film is full of surprises.

One brilliant gag is consistently followed with another equally splendid joke. “Duck Soup” is considered by many to be one of the best film comedies ever devised, and if my reaction to it is any indication, you won’t get anything in the way of disagreement from me there.