a review of 可可豆

#71 (March 12/31) I've been a Marx Bros. fan since I was a child, but had somehow avoided watching The Cocoanuts until now. I say "avoided" because I'd always read that it was the least of their films, and having finally seen it I'm inclined to agree. It's basically just a filmed adaptation of one of their early stage revues, and it feels much stiffer than their later movies which were more tailor-made for their talents. For one thing, there's a LOT more ancillary non-Marx characters in this movie, including an extremely forgettable romantic lead played by Oscar Shaw; it's the sort of role that would have been filled more capably by Zeppo (here sidelined as a desk clerk) in future films. The A-plot of the film, revolving around a high-society jewel heist and Groucho's shady land auction, isn't quite exploited to its fullest comedic extent, largely playing out in the sorts of set pieces that the Marxes would perfect later on. But it does weirdly mirror our current political situation in ways that even "Duck Soup" doesn't quite manage, now that our President is another strangely-coiffed con man holding court from his ill-begotten Florida estate. He may aspire to the monomaniacal heights of a Rufus T. Firefly, but is still ultimately a small-time pisher like Mr. Hammer.