Duck Soup

I can no longer keep my silence about what I have been up to these last few months. Comedy. It is comedy. There are two new forms of comedy in my life that I have been taking part in these last few weeks.

The first is the TV show, "The Big Bang Theory." I could go on more about that, but let's just put it this way - I was, and always shall be, a nerd. This show throws me back to my high school days. I get jokes I never should get. And it makes me think, "Why does the world have a certain standard about how we should behave and what should interest us?" I wish there were more nerds in my life.

But the other comedy I have been viewing is the Marx Brothers. I will not lie, I had never had any interest in the Marx brothers for my first 24 years. First of all, I got Groucho Marx confused with Karl Marx, and I'm no communist. But also, like many things, nothing had ever caused me to question a world without Marx brothers.

In late April I worked a 32-hour day. I kid you not - I went to work at 11:00 am on Sunday and didn't go home until 8:00 PM the next day (with the exception of a two-hour nap). That Thursday mornign I flew home and, as I was getting ready for a good, long needed, nap, I opened up "Duck Soup" on Netflix.

I guess I also opened up a can of worms. The comedy of the Marx brothers was something that I was not prepared for. I suppose I compare it to a 1930's Monty Python...a movie where little comedy skits were loosely strung together with a "plot." It was adorable. I became an instant fan!

After my first Marx movie, I had decided that my all time favorite brother was Chico. From later research, I learned that Chico was the oldest of the performing brothers (there were six, but really only the three became famous). He also had a gambling problem in real life. For our younger generation fans, his character was that of an Italian immigrant who struggled with words. His plays on words were quaint and yet still amusing in the movie setting. As the Brothers started as a vaudeville act, Chico would perform on the piano in many movies. As a pianist myself, I wish I could play a few of his songs!

A close second was Harpo. I had long known Harpo from an "I Love Lucy" episode. The episode I had always found funny, however I had never really fallen in love with the Harpo character. However, after three Marx movies, I now see why he seems to be one of the favorites among those who know the brothers.

Bulging eyes, a curly wig, and an outfit that looks like a hobo. Harpo Marx never spoke in film. Early in his career he learned to pantomime his lines because he had difficulty delivering them. Harpo also chases women around and plays, you guessed it, the harp. In his personal life, he married late and adopted four children. He was always very happy.

Groucho Marx is perhaps the postor boy for the brothers. He is the youngest of the famous three and also the first to get started in show business. In my first encounter with Groucho, I wasn't impressed. To be honest, his oversized grease-pencil mustache almost made me sick. He appeared in the movie delivering lines that made no sense - it was a strange mix of jokes that came one after another, too fast to really understand.

However, since then Groucho has become a favorite for me. His sense of humor is much like my own. I find that is why I have trouble getting people to laugh at my jokes - my style is from the 1930's. Groucho is the voice and character of the team. He was the one who carried on in show business long after the brothers stopped performing together in public. I have come to love his fiendish eyebrow wiggles and 1930's style innuendo, his way of being insulting and loveable at the same time.

Apparently Groucho was also loveable off the screen. He was a simple man who wanted to be a good father to his children and stay at home. However, he had a tendency to marry alchoholics, and spent three marriages in this way. This inevitably led to a more depressing home life than perhaps he deserved.

However, I think one of the greatest appeals of the Marx brothers is the very fact that they are brothers. (There were six in all - one died, two others left show business as Groucho, Harpo, and Chico developed stronger characters). I imagine growing up for them was a fun experience - even if they were poor. They learned to entertain - to play instruments.

In their movies I see four (or three) brothers who have fun together. They work, they enjoy each other's company, and they goof off...how much better can life get? I can tell this is a comedy team that thrives on improv. Although I've never had a brother, I cannot imagine a more fulfilling day than going to work and giving your brother a hard time all day. Every scene I watch screams "brothers!" to me. And this makes the movies all the more enjoyable.