Why so much hype?

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Marx Brothers are completely hilarious with their relentless brand of chaotic humor, and this is possibly their finest film. I guess it's sort of their "politics/war movie". There is no one brand of humor for them, they use basically every known(and unknown) form of humor and do it well!

The last Marx Brothers Paramount feature before they got fired and moved to MGM. I vaguely remember the backstory being that this film bombed, thus why the boys were terminated. Why the hell it bombed, I have no idea--this may be their funniest Paramount. The story is simple enough; a fictional country ousts their leader in order to appoint Groucho as the head man in charge, leading to a war & the intro of Chico and Harpo; and I guess Zeppo was there, too.Too many funny lines and scenes to cover--Be sure to wash your neck, peanuts, Harpo jumping into the lemonade, the running gag with the sidecar, and the war at the end, especially Harpo grabbing Margaret Dumont's ass. And, Harpo's brief encounter with Edgar Kennedy's wife.The rest of the Marx Brothers career at MGM is debatable, but they got off to a great start with "A Night at the Opera" and "A Day at the Races."

Oh, the golden age of Hollywood. A time for best classic films. Judy Garland, Esther Williams, Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Gene Kelly, and Fred Astair gave us the best musicals. Humphry Bogart, Vivien Leigh, Betty Davis, Clark Gable, Ingred Bergman, and Katherine Hepburn gave us the best dramas. W.C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and the Marx brothers gave us the best comedy. All of it from a bygone era, so special and wonderful. They just don't make em like they used to anymore. Any of it. "Duck soup" is another great Marx brothers comedy, just like "A night at the opera", " Animal crackers", and "A day at the races". I don't want to add too many spoilers here. This film gave us the famous mirror scene, the grand entrance opening, and many other scenes and funny lines from them all, especially Groucho. This was another Marx brothers film that made me laugh so much my sides hurt. So funny. So great. Like I said before, they don't make em like they used to anymore.

Lunacy from start to finish. The routines never cease and almost all are belly laughs, at least for us Marxists. There's something of a plot, which happily never gets in the way. It's something about Groucho's country of Freedonia and a rivalry with Calhern's Sylvania. Meanwhile zillionaire matron Dumont is the dubious prize. Naturally, the boys comically foil every plot to snatch her away. Trouble is words don't come close to capturing the non-stop lunacy of the 70-minutes. What's generally overlooked, however, is how well produced the feature is. The royal hall is huge, well decorated, and staffed with armies of costumed extras. Thankfully, Paramount cut few corners and it shows. And catch that mass scene of squirming bodies near the end that borders on a surreal even as the routines continue. Comic highlights include the famous mirror scene, getting hats on straight at the hotdog stand, and Groucho's many throwaway lines. I can just imagine what it was like trying to direct this madness from a director's chair. Whatever they paid McCarey, it wasn't enough.Anyway, the boys are in top form including the uncertain Zeppo before he wisely became a Hollywood talent agent. So, for younger folks, don't miss the well-crafted 1933 craziness. As the goofiness shows, surreal comedy didn't begin with the wacko likes of Bill Murray, Jim Carey, or even The Three Stooges!