DUCK SOUP (1933) *** The Marx brothers had limitless style and wit, but I think that a lot of their staying power has to do with their classical sense of foil. Here they mock, unreservedly, war, the political process, rich widows, lemonade vendors, dictators, John Philip Sousa, Paul Revere....well, yeah, but mainly war and dictators, though. It's Groucho seizing the reigns of power, with Harpo and Chico alternately aligning themselves with, or against, him, but always with Zeppo. If it's a confusing concept you didn't pay much attention to national positions on the situation in Chechnya in the wake of 9/11. How fertile the ground still is, in terms of mockable wars, warmongers, and dictators. Of course these Marxists include socialism amongst their foils (the workers want "shorter hours," so Groucho cuts their lunch hour to 20 minutes), and if the rest of humanity didn't provide them with enough things to mock they would have invented their own. Very few performers can even fake maintaining a three-gags-a-minute pace likes this without looking idiotic, or, worse, being irritating. Perhaps the brothers' greatest achievement is looking like geniuses even when they miss one. Which means they don't look like dat kin' awf genius too mahch, neh! haw huh.
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