I decided to capitalize on my general slothful state of being today by beginning #90, a/k/a my quest to watch all of the films on AFI's 100 years...100 movies list. Surprisingly, and rather embarrassingly, I have only seen a handful of the movies that made the list, but I'm excited to watch all of them (well maybe not allllll of them, but most). This particular task makes me feel very grateful for Netflix (especially for streaming rentals), which will certainly help me
Today I chose to watch the Marx Brothers classic Duck Soup. Not only was this the first movie for me off AFI's list, but it was also the first Marx Brothers film I have ever watched. I know I've seen clips of Groucho with his famous moustache and cigars, and at the very least, I've seen Bugs Bunny dress up as him, but this was my first full length film.For the most part, I enjoyed the movie, although I have to agree with one netflix reviewer's comment that a lot of the scenes seem as though they just started rolling the camera and let the brothers do as they pleased. There were a lot of weird timing issues with actors stepping on each others' lines and clips not matching up, but you can forgive that because of the sheer genius of Groucho's wittiness, often so quick that you can't keep up with him.
I think my favorite character was Harpo Marx's "Pinky," who carried exaggeratedly large scissors in his pants and would cut off just about anything another character was wearing: a tie, coattails, helmet plumes. All in all, I liked the movie. While I probably wouldn't watch it a second time, I would recommend it to anyone who has an hour of free time and could use a chuckle or two.
My rating: 3 out of 5 Rileys.
PS: You can always check the list (and reference my personal ratings) at the top of the page or by clicking here.
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