Duck Soup for Dinner?

One of the most puzzling developments of the past hundred years is how the Three Stooges became more popular than the vastly comically superior Marx Brothers. To see what we mean, spend an hour hitting your friends on the head while exclaiming "Why I oughta," then head over to the Grand Illusion and watch the Marx Brother's 1933 classic Duck Soup.

The nation of Freedonia is on the verge of ruin until the wealthy Mrs. Teasdale (not to be confused with our first grade teacher Mrs. Tisdale) decides to bankroll the country if it will install Rufus T. Firefly as its leader. Firefly falls in love with Mrs. Teasdale who is being pursued by an ambassador from neighboring Sylvania, throwing the two nations into war.

The result is a brilliant satire of politics and war, featuring such humorously chilling lines as, "You're a brave man. Go and break through the lines. And remember, while you're out there risking your life and limb through shot and shell, we'll be in be in here thinking what a sucker you are."

In 1998 the American Film Institute named it one of the 100 best films of the 20th century. Which if our knowledge of the history of movin' pictures is correct, means ever.

The film also features Edgar Kennedy, who made a career out of playing characters named Edgar, as a lemonade vendor.

Duck Soup plays at the Grand Illusion through Thursday at 7 and 9 in the pm.