The Source

1999 documentary

Rating: 14/20

Plot: A history of the Beat from when Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs met at Columbia University in the mid-40s, through their rise to pop culture icon status, to their deaths.

This works fine as an introduction to the Beats and their literature, but in covering fifty years in about ninety minutes, it's a huge shallow pool of a documentary rather than anything a fan of the writers can really sink their teeth into. I know that recordings exist of Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs reading pieces of On the Road, Howl, and Naked Lunch respectively, but the makers of this documentary wanted that star power and grabbed Depp, Turturro, and Hopper to do the readings. Not sure how I feel about that, but I have to admit it was pretty cool to see a couple of them really get into the reading. I don't want to mention which two for fear that the other one will stumble upon my blog and have his feelings hurt. Good seeing a really mean and bitter Gregory Corso (my personal favorite Beat poet), Herbert Huncke, the Fugs' Ed Sanders, Ken Kesey, Gary Snyder, Michael McClure, Philip Whalen, Laurence Ferlinghetti, Timothy Leary, and Amiri Baraka. It was especially cool seeing a lot of footage of Beat muse Neil Cassady. Along with the insight from the authors, this is stuffed with a lot of pop culture snippets, an attempt to show the Beats' influence on movies, television, and music as well as art and literature. There was a Lord Buckley spotting (just on a poster), a clip of Groucho, a Tom Waits song, and a little bit of Bob. If nothing else, this movie did make me say, "Hmm. It's been a while since I've read On the Road; maybe I should pull that out," and then later, "I'm going to dig out my Ginsberg discs to hear him read Howl," and then, "Where is my copy of Naked Lunch anyway?"

Go West

1940 Marx Brothers movie

Rating: 16/20 (Dylan: 12/20)

Plot: S. Quentin Quale, Joe Panello, and Rusty Pane try to make money with land that doesn't belong to them that the railroad really wants.

Expectations weren't high for this one, but I really enjoyed it. It doesn't have the staginess of some other Marx Brothers productions, the word play and visual gags are top notch, and any attempt at a story doesn't get in the way of the fun. The final twenty or so minutes that take place on a train (one that leaves the tracks and is almost entirely demolished by the end of its journey) is wonderfully inventive and humorous. I've heard that Buster Keaton worked as a gag writer for the Marxes once his career finally fizzled, and with this train scene, especially knowing how much Buster liked trains, it sure does look like the work of him. The obligatory piano and harp playing interludes (here, spread apart) are really good. I told Dylan that I could watch Chico's fingers for a couple hours without getting bored. Groucho gets a great line that I will probably quote often: "There's something corrupt going on around my pants." As with a few Marx Brothers movies I've seen, there are a couple unfortunate musical numbers, both with really strange vocals that almost sound like somebody's playing around with a record player.

A Night at the Opera

1935 musical comedy

Rating: 16/20

Plot: Poncho, Lefty, Karl, Stinky, Shifty, Bimbo, Gordo, and Jacko Marx destroy a night at the opera.

When ranking the Marx Brothers movies I've seen, it would be Duck Soup at the top followed by everything else. A Night at the Opera is consistently cited as one of the best if not their very best, and I can understand why. The story is easily the most cohesive, the pacing is much better, and their are some classic bits. I don't think those classic bits are as uproariously hilarious as some of their others, and this one does suffer from that 1930's need for comedies to have endless and bland musical numbers. And while I do always enjoy watching the obligatory Harpo and Chico musical numbers, this one isn't their best. Still, I'm just nitpicking. This is not only a great 1930's comedy, it's (as the poster says) the funniest picture ever made.

Room Service

1938 Marx Brothers movie

Rating: 12/20

Plot: A theater producer tries to con hotel management into letting him keep his room despite his lack of resources. At the same time, he works with his colleagues (not surprisingly, a mute guy and an Italian immigrant) to procure a turkey.

This is very stagy, and although there are a handful of funny moments (the aforementioned turkey in what is one of the dopiest special effects of all time, a bit involving poisoning), you really have to wait a while to get to them. There's actually very little interaction between the "brothers" and none of them seem particularly inspired in this one. There's no cutting loose, so it's like the Marx Brothers in a box. I really doubt any single moment in Room Service will be brought up in a discussion about class Marx moments. It's disappointing because there was potential with the story.

A Day at the Races

1937 Marx bro. movie

Rating: 16/20

Plot: Three of the Marx Brothers (Grabbo, Bongo, and Crappo) try to save a sanitarium from financial ruin. A race horse named High-Hat, a vet posing as a people doctor, and a pair of con men are somehow involved.

This took a little while to gain some momentum, but it ended up being a good Marx Brothers' flick. It's still bogged down a little with three or four too many musical numbers (or however many musical numbers it has) although as always, I enjoy watching the Brothers themselves handle the instruments. And I especially enjoyed watching Harpo manhandle a piano. I sure missed Zeppo. There are a handful of really good bits throughout, and I'm finally able to finger the exact reason why I like the Marxes so much--they are completely unlikable as human beings and simultaneously have this misanthropy that I think is lovable.

Monkey Business

1931 Marx Brothers silliness

Rating: 16/20

Plot: Grumpy, Bilbo, Dildo, and Flippo are stowaways on a ship heading for America. Between evading the ship's crew and being as obnoxious as possible, they are hired as body guards by rival gangsters. Despite the promise, monkeys have nothing to do with anything.

Pure, out-of-control zaniness abounds in this nearly plotless wankathon. The boys seem to thrive in this spontaneity, and it's great watching them have so much fun running around a boat, slowing down only to deliver some non-sequiturs or puns that nearly knock the wind out of you. I'd imagine that if a person likes the Marx Brothers, they'd like this movie even though it's not as great as A Night at the Opera or Duck Soup. The lack of musical numbers was a genuine relief after watching the last two which had too much singing. It is always great to see Harpo and Chico attack the harp and piano respectively though. Harpo gets the funniest bits (as usual?), the best dealing with his involvement with a puppet show. Chico, as my friend Anne McInslop would agree, is by far the sexiest of the Marx Brothers, however. I had a near religious experience (i.e. uncontrollable fits of giggling) while watching this, but I can't recall what I would have been laughing at.

Animal Crackers

1930 comedy

Rating: 14/20

Plot: It really doesn't matter a whole lot. Captain Spaulding (Groucho) returns from adventures in Africa in time to get mixed up in a bunch of nonsense about an expensive painting and the crooks attempting to steal it. Zaniness ensues.

Like The Cocoanuts, this one is really stagey. There's an odd mix of almost postmodern humor that is wildly ahead of its time and the really dated romantic subplot with the even more dated musical numbers. And like The Cocoanuts, when the Marx brothers are on screen, the puns and double entendres and non sequiturs are fast and furious and frequently funny. Lots of "Oh, so that's where that line comes from" moments. When the Marxes are nowhere to be found, this is really sort of lame. And I love watching Chico and Harpo playing the piano and harp respectively, but the extended scenes really sort of hurt the pacing of this one.

The Cocoanuts

1929 musical comedy

Rating: 13/20

Plot: Hammer owns a beachside hotel in Florida. It makes no money. He tries his best to swindle his way into riches while at the same time, some jewel thieves concoct a plan to rob from a rich visitor. The other Marx Brothers get in the way of both plans. And then there is much singing!

Too much singing. Hokey-pokey subplots and insipid song and dance numbers get in the way of what the Marx Brothers are doing. They do their thang in this, their first movie--the fast talking funk, Zeppo's physical stuff, the musical instrument dabbling--but it's a messy thang and there's nothing really all that memorable like the classic scenes in their better work.

Duck Soup

1933 comedy

Rating: 18/20 (Dylan: 13/20)

Plot: It doesn't really matter. But Rufus Firefly has been put charge of Freedonia, a country with all kinds of financial difficulties. Firefly picks fights with an ambassador from Sylvania over the love of benefactress Mrs. Teasdale. The ambassador uses a pair of inept spies--gregarious Chicolini and mute Pinky--to find out Firefly's secret war plans, and eventually the war begins. It ends, too.

We were playing a game called Apples to Apples after eating at my dad's house yesterday. It's a game that involves matching cards in your hand to adjectives that are turned up. Points are earned if the judge picks your card as the one that fits with the adjective the best. The word was "zany" and I was thrilled to have "The Marx Brothers" as one of my cards. Unfortunately, the judge for that one was Dylan, and some other answer not as good was picked as the winning card. It was arguably the worst moment of my entire life. I stood from the table, threw my cards across the room, and stormed out of the room. A kitten was kicked. Leftover stuffing was hurled. I waved a finger at my family and called them all a "bunch of bitches" who I was "thankful would some day wind up in hell" and ended up chewing up and swallowing the card that said "zany" and hiding the "Marx Brothers" card underneath the couch. When I cooled off a bit, I realized that there was a gap in Dylan's education that needed to be addressed immediately. He thought it was a punishment at first but laughed enough to make me wonder why he only gave it a 13. Is it dated? Of course! It's from 1933. But when this thing is funny, it's funny with the f-word in front of it. The Marx Brothers might not be for everybody (or are they an acquired taste?) but I like 'em and think this is their funniest effort.

Horse Feathers

1932 Marx Brothers' musical comedy


Rating: 14/20

Plot: College president Professor Wagstaff (Groucho) wants his Huxley to beat rival Darwin (get it? Huxley? Darwin?) in the upcoming football game. He recruits a pair of idiots, mistaking them for the ringers he was looking for in a speakeasy. There's anarchy and mayhem, a love trapezoid, kidnapping attempts, and quips.

The absurdity of these Marx Brothers movies is always worth the time, although this isn't up there with the brilliant Duck Soup or the slightly-less-brilliant A Night at the Opera. The plot is secondary as Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Leppo, Zeppo, Dodo, Bingo, Slappo, Poncho, Lefto, Bozo, Gorgonto, Bobo, Loco, Taco, and Gringo screwball it up in a script occasionally watered down with lousy puns but always keeping you on your toes listening for the next twisted line that you can almost audibly chuckle at but ultimately won't. The legs of these Marx movies amazes me. The movies are fun and the jokes aren't dated. And any time you get to see Chico and Harpo play the piano and harp respectively, it's a treat. And Groucho's song "I'm Against It" should be my new theme song:

"I don't know what they have to say

It makes no difference anyway

Whatever it is, I'm against it.

No matter what it is or who commenced it,

I'm against it!"

Here I am laughing my ass off: