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Monkey Business
1931 Comedy / Adventure
 Review
Monkey Business, the Marx
Brothers’ third film, differs from their first two in that it was an
original work, not based on a show they had previously performed on
stage. This is significant because this is the first time we get
to see the Marxes as they are best remembered, completely unfettered
and knocking out one stunning gag after another in a frenzy of wild
anarchic fun. Although the Marxes would make better films in
subsequent years – including the all-time classics Duck
Soup (1933) and A Night at the Opera (1935) – Monkey Business is the film that
features their funniest and most inspired comedy routines.Admittedly, the plot is next to non-existent and the characters are absurd caricatures of the familiar Hollywood types (mostly played by individuals with minimal acting skill), but who cares? With Groucho performing verbal gymnastics of the kind that ought to be an Olympic sport and his brothers applying their own individual skills to the cause of comedy, who can complain? The film is stuffed with so many great gags that no one can resist liking it. The best remembered routine is the one where the four brothers take it in turn to impersonate the French chansonnier Maurice Chevalier, each singing a line from one of his songs (which presents a small problem for Harpo who, as we all know, never speaks). Other highpoints include the barber’s shop gag, in which Chico’s attempt to direct Harpo in shaving a moustache ends in disaster, and Harpo’s Punch and Judy routine (which is so hilarious and weird that you just have to rewind the tape/DVD and watch it again). This is comedy at its most inspired and unpredictable; no wonder the film was a phenomenal success. The Marx Brothers certainly knew their trade. © CinemaForever.com 2009 Write a review for this film...User Comments
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Director:
Norman Z. McLeod
Starring: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, Rockliffe Fellowes Synopsis
Four brothers, Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo, stowaway on a ship
bound for New York. As they try to elude the ship’s First Mate,
the brothers find themselves embroiled in the machinations of two rival
gangs. Groucho takes a liking to an attractive young woman named
Lucille, not knowing that she is married to the notorious gangster Alky
Briggs. Meanwhile, Harpo takes over a Punch and Judy Show and has
a great time chasing young females all over the ship. The
enterprising Chico finds work as a bodyguard to bootlegger Joe Helton,
whose daughter attracts the attention of the incurably romantic
Zeppo. Having reached New York, the brothers attend a
party at Helton’s house in Long Island, where Briggs intends to abduct
Mary. Fortunately, Groucho and his brothers are on hand to
enliven a dull soiree and scupper the gangster’s fiendish plans...
Credits
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© CinemaForever.com 2009