1935 / 96m - USA
Comedy
1.5*/5.0*
A Night at the Opera poster

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January 23, 2021

1.5*/5.0*

My third Marx Brothers film and they start to get a little predictable. Only three brothers are present in this one, but that doesn't really shake things up. Each brother has his own particular style of comedy and the film switches between them, while in the background some uninteresting plot develops.

The Marx Brothers get mixed up in a ploy to get two lover together in an opera. The youngest isn't being accepted as a tenor as he's not given a fair chance to prove his worth. By humiliating the man's enemies and messing up their plans, Groucho, Chico and Harpo try to pave the way for his success.

Groucho's quips and puns have the biggest chance of drawing a few laughs, though there's an equal chance they'll miss target. Harpo's slapstick is terribly dated and Chico isn't particularly funny either. And so A Night at the Opera cycles between the brothers, flipping between passable and dreadful from start to finish. I would've preferred just Groucho minus the rest.