Love to see the boys act out

Love to see the boys act out

I think this is my first Marx Brothers movie, and it’s definitely… a lot. The rapid-fire jokes, chaos, and wordplay are all over the place—some of it lands, some of it feels like a relic of another time. I can see why they’re so iconic, but it didn’t fully click for me. Still, there’s something fun about watching pure anarchy dressed up as high society.

I think this is my first Marx Brothers movie, and it’s definitely… a lot. The rapid-fire jokes, chaos, and wordplay are all over the place—some of it lands, some of it feels like a relic of another time. I can see why they’re so iconic, but it didn’t fully click for me. Still, there’s something fun about watching pure anarchy dressed up as high society.

“pardon me, while i have a strange interlude”

it’s been YEARS since i last saw this but i still remember it like the back of my hand. a masterclass in comedy, was always within my favourites of the marx brothers work though it doesn’t quite reach the heights of ‘duck soup’ or ‘a night at the opera’. watching this reminded me of how much i love margaret dumont, she’s one of my favourite comedic foils of all time. the duo of dumont and groucho is one of my favourite (sort of) double acts ever, she contrasts him so well it makes everything he says significantly funnier, the way she plays the pompous aristocrat is just so fantastic you almost forget that she’s actually in on the joke. back when i was religiously watching these movies harpo was always my favourite brother because slapstick/physical humour is generally my favourite, or at least top 3 favourite, types of comedy to watch and hardly anyone does it better than harpo. in the years since then i think groucho has probably taken that top spot for me, i always find myself thinking of different groucho lines throughout all the movies and laughing to myself. this one in particular is very good, always loved the ‘flashlight’ exchange between chico and harpo and some of groucho’s best lines are from this film. that last bit with all the cutlery falling from harpo’s sleeve for like a minute and a half and him not moving an inch is genuinely so funny.

“pardon me, while i have a strange interlude”

it’s been YEARS since i last saw this but i still remember it like the back of my hand. a masterclass in comedy, was always within my favourites of the marx brothers work though it doesn’t quite reach the heights of ‘duck soup’ or ‘a night at the opera’. watching this reminded me of how much i love margaret dumont, she’s one of my favourite comedic foils of all time. the duo of dumont and groucho is one of my favourite (sort of) double acts ever, she contrasts him so well it makes everything he says significantly funnier, the way she plays the pompous aristocrat is just so fantastic you almost forget that she’s actually in on the joke. back when i was religiously watching these movies harpo was always my favourite brother because slapstick/physical humour is generally my favourite, or at least top 3 favourite, types of comedy to watch and hardly anyone does it better than harpo. in the years since then i think groucho has probably taken that top spot for me, i always find myself thinking of different groucho lines throughout all the movies and laughing to myself. this one in particular is very good, always loved the ‘flashlight’ exchange between chico and harpo and some of groucho’s best lines are from this film. that last bit with all the cutlery falling from harpo’s sleeve for like a minute and a half and him not moving an inch is genuinely so funny.

USA: Tredive fra Trediverne – #2: Animal Crackers (1930)

USA: Tredive fra Trediverne – #2: Animal Crackers (1930)

"Who wants to marry your grandmother? Nobody, not even your grandfather"

"Who wants to marry your grandmother? Nobody, not even your grandfather"