A Night at the Opera

Starring: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, Walter Woolf King, Sig Ruman, Margaret Dumont, Edward Keane
Directed by: Sam Wood, Edmund Goulding (uncredited)
Rating: Passed
Genre: Comedy, Music
1935

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Several shady characters intersect around an opera and those involved in the business and musical sides.

Review:

Tim: I like the Marx Brothers and always enjoy watching their antics on screen. A Night at the Opera is regarded as one of their better efforts and has been included on some of the lists of the best films of all time. I wouldn't quite go that far. I enjoyed the movie, certainly, but I don't think it compares to a film like Duck Soup. I thought this movie was very good, but still a long way from great.

The movie offers up pretty much what we've come to expect from the Marx Brothers. There's a lot of slapstick humor, some really funny back-and-forth banter, a few impressive sight gags. The story feels like it's secondary, which certainly hurts the movie to some extent. I wouldn't say I ever felt invested in the story or the characters, it was all loosely held together to move towards the next gag. This is certainly a big reason why I wouldn't consider this film a great movie. It's very well done, but without a strong narrative and compelling characters, the humor becomes blunted.

Now, there's always so much fun to be had watching Groucho, Chico, and Harpo. These three are such tremendous performers and have impeccable comedic timing. I had a blast watching them interact. Groucho and Chico have some terrific conversations with lightning fast dialogue and humorous lines that fly so quickly, they are easy to miss. Harpo does his thing exceedingly well. The movie's humor was a bit uneven (I wouldn't quite call it a consistently funny movie), but there are definitely high points throughout the film. The Marx Brothers' talent is a big reason why this movie is so enjoyable.

There's definitely a few scenes that stand above the rest. The highlight of the film for me was the Stateroom scene where many, many people crowd into Groucho's very small ship cabin. Sam Wood directs this scene brilliantly. I found the scene wildly entertaining and funny because of the sheer ludicrousness of it. It's expertly crafted and memorable. A lot of the dialogue was witty and humorous, too. This is especially true in the Contract scene, again, an instant classic.

I felt like the movie was somewhat uneven. I know many people loved Harpo's death-defying swinging around the opera house, but I felt the climax of the film to be a bit of a letdown. It was physically impressive, but not very funny. By the end of the movie, I felt just slightly disengaged and was ready for the film to be over. Now, I still thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but the ending needed to pack a bigger punch for me to consider this a great movie.

A Night at the Opera is certainly a classic comedy, but it feels like the best scenes (which are incredible) happened in isolation. This is a really strong comedy with great moments, not a great film as a whole. Still, it offers the Marx Brothers a chance to showcase their talent in an entertaining, funny forum. This is certainly a movie well worth seeing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: A Night in Casablanca, Duck Soup