September
11, 2004
This
little-known 1950 (I still say 1949) movie marks the final
appearance of the Marx Brothers, and while it isn’t very good
when compared to their classics, it isn’t that bad, either.
I
would have to say that I prefer Love Happy to the later
MGM pictures like At the Circus or Go West or
The Big Store (wretched movies, all). What largely disappoints
is that, for the most part, only Chico and Harpo are seen; Groucho
only appears in an occasional monologue, and doesn’t even
appear with his brothers until the very end of the movie.
Why
this was done, we can only speculate, but it’s too bad, because
this would have been far more enjoyable if the three were actually
together.
The
plot, like pretty much all the plots after A Night at the Opera,
is completely forgettable and meaningless, largely a vain attempt
to mimic the formula that Irving Thalberg used so successfully.
I don’t know why anyone would go to a Marx Brothers movie
to watch some faceless romantic couple overcome some hardship. Who
cares about these people, anyway? I don’t watch Bugs Bunny
to see a refined reading of Falstaff. I want screwball comedy and
lightning-fast one-liners.
Needless
to say, I prefer the Paramount Marx Brothers movies like Horse
Feathers and Duck Soup, which had about as much plot
as your average Road Runner cartoon. Yet even so, I honestly can't
remember a single thing about the story in this movie, except that
I wanted it to be over as quickly as possible.
Love
Happy is remembered largely because it marks the first screen appearance
of Marilyn Monroe, but even here, you’re bound to be disappointed.
Her cameo is little more than a momentary walk-on with Groucho,
it has absolutely nothing to do with anything, and you’ve
completely forgotten about it five minutes later.
I
don’t want to make it seem as though this movie is a total
loss. There’s enough here to enjoy if your favorite Marx is
Chico, or especially Harpo. It’s always such a joy to see
these boys perform, and for some it may be worth sitting through
all the dead wood to see Harpo one last time. And, again, where’s
Groucho? The man was obviously still funny; if you doubt me, then
go watch the recent DVD set of You Bet Your Life.
If
we actually had the three of them together for more than just one
scene, things would be completely different. As it stands, we're
left with something that's incomplete; practically the gold standard
of mediocrity, and dull.
The
Marx Brothers belong to the days of vaudeville and '30s comedies,
where the pacing and tempo were fast, fast, fast. By the end of
the 1940s, audiences prefered formula pictures with a slower speed
and more standard structure. Isn't this the reason why so many comedies
from that decade were so dreadfully dull?
Love
Happy was reportedly made to pay off Leonard (Chico) Marx's gambling
debts. It shows. |
