Comedy has definitely changed in the past 84 years.  It is difficult to put something like Duck Soup in the same category as any of The Hangover’s or Superbad.  And that’s not to say it’s any better or any worse, but one noticeable difference between the weathered comedy I saw at Cornell Cinema and many of the newer comedies I’ve seen is tempo.  In one of the first scenes of Duck Soup, as soon as Groucho Marx makes his way on screen, he proceeds in a rapid fire of witticisms, many of which are direct insults.  It seemed like the main feature of the comedy was the comedy itself and that the movie’s plot had been built around that fact.  In contrast, I view a lot of modern funny movies as movies that have comedy built into them.  The funny things said and the funny actions performed go with the flow.  Groucho, and later Harpo and Chico, lead the movie with their antics.

Something comedy often does, true in the past and today, is make fun of controversy/ sensitive topics.  It did seem that Duck Soup had its fair share of comments/jokes directed at women.  I appreciate when humor occasionally borders along the edges of inappropriate to make a point.  For example, a comedian may make light of his own personal struggle with drug addiction.  He can still ultimately give the audience a new perspective on what it’s like to be addicted to drugs all the while making them laugh due to how the subject matter has been delivered.  I did not feel the Duck Soup jokes directed at gender, and some I believe at race, had reoriented my views or given me any additional insight.  I do not think they were maliciously placed necessarily, but are instead from a time where they might be viewed as commonplace and therefore viewed as acceptable.  I do think it’s important to still be able to make fun of serious situations, especially in a world that, as a general trend, is increasing its politically correctness.  But at the same time, there’s is a difference between something novel that may rub you the wrong way, and something hackneyed that seems more a cheap source of laughs, especially when it is viewed as offensive by a certain group of people.

Duck Soup did have its funny moments.  Even though some of the other humor used was classic gag humor commonly used in old cartoons, it still seems funny because of its innocence.  Some things simply don’t take a very deep level of thought and are able to evoke what seems like a more natural, unabashed laugh out of the audience.  All around, I recommend seeing the film as it can offer laughter, while still giving the viewer at least a small window through which to view 1933 in America.