I don't know where to begin with The Marx Brothers, which is I guess the reason I haven't really written about them. They are impossible to describe, I should just keep this short and tell you to watch their movies, all of them, particularly everything from "The Coconuts" to "A Day at the Races". Yet, I feel obligated to at least write some type of a tribute no matter that whatever I say couldn't give them the true justice they deserve, after all they have given me hours of entertainment, the least I could do is allow a few words to express how I feel about these great comedians.
This can be called a tribute, for I have no intention on critiquing the Marx Brother's work, although some of their movies are flawed, they never are, the only thing that lets down the Marx Brothers is the film itself. The worst Marx Brothers movie I have seen is "Room Service", a film that was not for them, it seemed reluctant to let The Marx Brothers BE The Marx Brothers. They were stuck to being regular comedic characters, yet if you look at that movie, you can see these guys making the best out of raw material. Groucho, Harpo, and Chico could make anything funny, just by being on screen, there's always a glimmer in their eyes, that need to entertain, that want to be funny that never went away. "Room Service" was a failure because it wasn't, by definition a Marx Brothers movie, no matter how hard the brothers themselves tried to make it one.
As far as their best movies go, I can only use the word perfection to describe them. Perfection is a word that is thrown around a lot when talking about classic films, it has almost become a cliche, yet I assure you, for The Marx Brothers, this description is purely justified.
I don't have a favorite Marx Brothers movie, it's impossible to pick one, the closest I can do is pick at least four, they are: "Animal Crackers", "Horse Feathers", "Duck Soup", and "A Night at the Opera"; these are the four funniest films ever made, yes they are that is not debatable, the only people who would debate that are people who have never seen them, they might not admit they have never seen them, but if they debate that it proves they have never seen them, because who else would debate that?
Is this the rantings of an obnoxious fan? No! I am not obnoxious, but I am a fan, and like all fans I am somewhat possessive, but let me try to defend my fanness. When I first saw "Duck Soup", which was my first Marx Brothers film, it was like I had never seen comedy before, this was my introduction to it. It was a new kind of comedy, one I'm sure has not been reproduced since. Here are four brothers (Yes this includes Zeppo, wonderfully straight Zeppo!), four brothers who seem to resemble every type of comedy. You have the silent pantomime clown Harpo, who stayed silent all his career, something even Chaplin couldn't claim. Then there is Chico, the one who never seemed to lose his vaudevillian roots, he was there to add zingers to the scene, to support his actors, and to play the piano. There was Zeppo, the hapless romantic hero, someone had to play those roles, and he did so well, after he left, the other romantic leads were just imitating what he established.
Notice me changing paragraphs now, because I have to gush about Groucho, and I'm pretty sure it will take a whole new paragraph. I am not shy to admit it, but Groucho is my favorite, he's my hero, the witty wordsmith who made anything a punchline even if it wasn't. Unless he was being conned by Chico, Groucho was the smartest man in the room, simply because he was the funniest, you couldn't get past his wit, others have tried, but they just can't fly one past him. I'm trying desperately now to say something about Groucho that already hasn't been said, something truly original, something he might have taken notice of and maybe have used it as a line, but I know I can't, I just can't think like he can. I think since Groucho, every comedian has tried to come close to being as funny and as smart as him. Woody Allen has come the closest I think, of course he was the ultimate Groucho fan, he perhaps payed the highest compliment to him and his brothers in "Hannah and her Sisters". When Woody's character is looking for answers and can't find them anywhere else, he goes to the movie theatre and there on the screen, he's watching "Duck Soup". The Marx Brother's non-sense seemed like the only thing that did make sense.
I must stop now, I'm gushing far too long, I think I have made my point. The Marx Brothers movies are now over 70 years old, but that perfection word keeps popping up, that's why they endure, that's the simple reason, their films could be terrible, each and every one of them, but they could always rise above their material, because they just couldn't help being funny, they were just that, funny. The one note of seriousness always came from Harpo when his face suddenly changed whenever he sat to play his harp, but other than that, I can't think of another group or individual comedians whose sole purpose was to put a smile on your face, they were the most entertaining bunch who ever lived, who knows if they even needed an audience, we were just the fortunate ones who got to see them do what they did best, make you laugh.
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