At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

I disagree with the put downs of this film by some viewers, for a very simple reason: I enjoyed watching it and found it funny. Sure, the plot is a little weak, but who watches Marx Brothers films for the plot? Actually, the plot is stronger than in many of their movies. Groucho's role is certainly weak, but this may be Harpo's finest film, which showcases his beautiful comic style. Chico does fine, too. And they both deliver some wonderful musical performances. The scene near the end on the rooftop amid the Times Square advertising signs is delightful. There seems to be an obvious element of "product placement," though I don't know whether the filmmakers got paid for this, but that all adds to the peculiar humor of the scene. It's been a very long time since I first saw the classic Marx Brothers films, at least as an adult who could appreciate them. Back then they were funny. But I can't say they crack me up these days, as the gags have gotten old. So it was wonderful to find this Marx Brothers film I hadn't seen, and to laugh at them again. This is a funny film. Period.It is a bit sad knowing this was their last film, also knowing the great young comedy writers who were about to get started in live television, including Mel Brooks and Woody Allen. If only their talent could have been turned to writing more scripts for the Marx Brothers. Instead, they wrote for Sid Caesar's television shows, which in some ways were the heirs to the Marx Brothers humor. I think I will watch Love Happy again, soon. I want to watch Harpo's performance more closely. It seems to me he was the last of the silent film comedians, in the tradition of Chaplin and Buster Keaton, whose humor was all in their body language. And this was his last great work.

"Love Happy", the last official Marx Brothers film (unless you want to count "The Story Of Mankind"), is also usually listed as their worst, but I'm not sure I can agree with this evaluation. There are numerous problems with it, to be sure: Groucho only appears about 4 times in total; Chico overdoes his Italian accent more than ever before, but his only truly funny scene is the pantomime game with Harpo; the piano and harp interludes are dull; the chase climax is weak. And yet, there are lots of things to like in "Love Happy" as well: Harpo is joyful, expressive, tireless and sometimes even touching (the scene where they "search" him for the diamonds is hilarious); during his limited appearances, Groucho throws out all the funniest lines in the film (my favorite comes at the very start: "The FBI was baffled, the Scotland Yard was baffled. They sent for me, and the case was solved immediately: I confessed!"); Ilona Massey milks the icy-hot bad girl role for all it's worth; the supporting cast is filled with lovely, leggy ladies; the musical numbers, although not exactly necessary, are quite entertaining in their own right; and let's face it, if you're a fan, every film the Marx Bros. made is worthy of a spot in your DVD collection. Beware of the hype for the Marilyn appearance, though, it is literally a few seconds long. **1/2 out of 4.

This day being the one Groucho Marx died 30 years ago, 3 days after Elvis, I decided to watch some of his movies that I either have on tape or just checked at the library. Love Happy, I taped 12 years ago from AMC. This movie came 20 years after Groucho and his brothers' talkie debut in The Cocoanuts. His participation is limited here which is just as well since he doesn't have many funny lines except with the villainous Ilona Massey and, in her brief part, a well-endowed Marilyn Monroe. Says Groucho to her, "Is there anything I can do for you? (turns to audience as he see-saws his eyebrows) What a ridiculous statement!" The story mainly concerns Harpo, as himself, as he steals plenty of sardine cans as they're being thrown at him unknowingly by Eric Blore. One Blore doesn't throw but has stolen unbeknownst from him by Harpo has some valuable diamonds. There's also a plot about a musical show with dancer Vera-Ellen and singer Marion Hutton (Betty's sister) that's for the birds. Best parts of those segments concern Chico's piano playing with violinist Leon Belasco though there's also a sexy Vera-Ellen number that got my temperature rising. Worst parts for me were Chico's wooing of Ms. Massey and Vera-Ellen's constant crying in front of Harpo. Most interesting part was the chase sequence at the end where Harpo rides on lots of billboards in one of the rare instances of product placements of the period. Many of those gags probably came from former animation director Frank Tashlin, a co-writer of the script. While there's one scene with Groucho and Harpo, the one with Chico at the end probably was shot on separate occasions since they don't share that scene together, just a cut to Chico after Grouch calls out to him. So, technically, this isn't really a "Marx Brothers" picture, just Harpo starring with Chico in support and Groucho in an extended cameo. Having not seen The Big Store, I reserve judgment on whether this is the worst movie of their career but Love Happy is certainly one of their lesser ones. P.S. Raymond Burr is one of the henchmen.

I've been a die-hard Marxist for several years now. After I watched their first seven films to the point where my tapes were in tatters, I sought out their later films, the lesser productions Room Service thru Night in Casablanca. After that, I still wanted more, so I finally gave in and watched the one film that I KNEW would be painful: Love Happy. Virtually every review has smeared this film and ripped into it with full claws, so I braced myself and bought the DVD.Now let me tell you something: this movie is great. Of course it's not in the ballpark of the Paramounts, but it fits nicely with their later films, and is a real delight. So why the negative rap? Well, this movie was originally intended as a solo vehicle for Harpo Marx. Chico joined on when he needed money to get out of debt. Groucho was never supposed to be in this film, but the sponsors said that they wouldn't release it unless he was, so that they could bill it as a "Marx Brothers" picture. So footage of Groucho narrating parts of the story were shoehorned into the finished product. The result? Chico and Harpo are just as enchanting as ever, and Groucho--despite being displayed prominently on the movie posters--is relegated to a commentator. Since most Marx fans are Groucho fans first, Chico/Harpo fans second, this setup comes as a slap in the face, and the film gets trashed.As such, if you watch the Marxes mainly to see Groucho's witty quips, this movie will bore you stiff. However, if you--like me--love the others just as much as Groucho (for me, Chico will ALWAYS be the funniest Marx Brother!) you'll be surprised at how good Love Happy really is. I'd go into the plot, but with a Marx movie, who really cares about the plot? It's our boys we're after. Chico plays an uproarious piano/violin duet, lusts after Ilona Massey, has some "tootsy-frootsy ice cream" and does some flawed mind-reading; Harpo tumbles through a washing machine, turns his fingers into candles, pulls a dog out of his coat and lusts after Ilona Massey. And Groucho narrates, searches, quips, ponders the situation, and...lusts after Ilona Massey. Oh!--and did I mention this film started the career of a young Marilyn Monroe? In short, to a Chico/Harpo fan, this movie is as good as (and often better than) At the Circus or A Night in Casablanca. To a Groucho fan...well, that's why we have remote-controls.