Popular reviews

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  Review by Joe ★★★

  Spends a lot of time in this weird uncanny valley of the Marx Brothers playing actual human characters - thank god this didn't establish a trend, imagine if they continued getting cast in movies about real people after this, it makes me shudder.

  But it manages to accumulate some real manic energy as it goes along, mostly courtesy of Harpo, who provides it in the form of a live turkey and his own dead body, among other things. Some surprisingly dark suicide gags add flavor to the last act, and the end result might actually be one of the strangest movies made by a studio. It's amazing what you can get done if you have a little money.

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  Review by Dwilder ★½ 1

  I’m a big fan of the Marx Brothers comedic works but this was the first time I saw Room Service and it was a massive disappointment to say the least.

  The Marx Brothers were always at their best when they were let loose to do what they wanted but here they are tied down to an extremely lacklustre plot and unfortunately have to make do with it despite how weak it is. Groucho is the only brother who is given a role of any real note or substance and even then his input is below par whilst the others have very little to do and really are feeding off scraps. There are a couple of good lines and amusing scenes…

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  Review by PUNQ ★★½

  Probable the least funny Marx Brothers film of the 1930s. Mostly due to it not being original Marx Bros material. Only later adopted for them, compared to their other films which was writing taken from their own stage shows.

  
  99% of this takes place in a hotel room they have to occupy so not to get thrown out before they can get a financial backer to visit them for a upcoming show they are producing. Frank Albertson gets thrown in as the straight guy/schmock and almost becomes the center of everything as the brothers are toned down here. Lucille Ball & Ann Miller are briefly here, but don't have any material to work with. They are just the dames. Donald MacBride as the hotel manager does get some good moments, inclduing the catchphrase of the movie - "Jumping butterballs!"

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  Review by threepenny ★★

  After two huge pictures with MGM, they left the studio for a deal with RKO. It was an experiment - instead of being Marx Bros. original material, they were simply cast in a story that was already a big hit on Broadway without them. They got inserted into the story, tweaked it a bit to tie to their characters, and let it ride. They were hopeful it would be successful, because it's a hell of a lot less work on their parts, no more workshopping jokes themselves. It worked only in so far as they created a mildly amusing comedy, like all the other comedies not starring the Marx Brothers. Not helping matters is the fact that 98% of the…

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  Review by RetroHound ★★★ 2

  Many years ago, some of you will remember, we couldn't watch what we wanted when we wanted. We were at the mercy of TV programmers and our parents control of the television. I don't remember how I found out about the Marx Brothers, but I was always a big fan of comedy. I loved Bob Hope, and somehow I loved the Marx Brothers. I'd seen one of the films and I was hooked. Anyway, at some point this film came on TV and I was so excited for the chance to see another Marx Brothers film. Room Service lacks a lot of the chaos of earlier films and mostly is in just one room. I was sitting there thinking, "Isn't…

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  Review by Willow Maclay 1

  A movie featuring the Marx Brothers rather than a "Marx Brothers Movie". Harpo fares best, because he's less beholden to the script, and his bits with the pasta strainer and the turkey are good, but Groucho and Chico have little to do here.

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  Review by Sam Morrison ★★½ 4

  Another Marx Brothers flop. I can't believe I've come across 2 that were disappointing, and hope it ends there. I was incorrect in my "Love Happy" review when I said that was the last I hadn't seen. There are a couple in the 40s that I missed, so I'll be going over those before I revisit the best from the 30s.

  A big reason this was a letdown was because it was a play not original to the Marx Brothers. They didn't get to be their "normal" selves and actually attempted acting and cringy line delivery. You could just tell they were out of their element. It was pretty painful to look at.

  There were a few good lines here…

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  Review by James 🇺🇦 ★★½

  'This is Mr. England, the brains of the organisation. That'll give you an idea of the organisation.'

  Bottom of the barrel. This is what happens when you give the Marx brothers material that wasn't specifically written for them, resulting in a diluted imitation of their former glory that has a suitably daft scenario but lacks everything else you expect and want from the siblings.

  Groucho has the most to do but here his character is much more grounded in reality and central to the plot than usual, hence the opportunity for rapid fire wit and unhinged farce is significantly reduced and quite often he's just awkwardly standing around, waiting to get in a great line that never seems to come—I…

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  Review by Krautsalat ★★★½

  52 Years in 52 Weeks 2019, The Prequel: Film #48

  Jumping butterballs!

  Lesser Marx Brothers, but still pretty funny. Includes some top notch turkey content.

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  Review by 𝔸ℕℕ𝔸 ★★½ 2

  Jumping butterballs! Watch as in the pursuit of theatre and the dollar, the Marx Brothers bring disease to a hotel room -- measles, a tapeworm, laryngitis, and "hail and farewell" Bellamy and Nazi appropriated salutes.

  A lesser Marx Brothers film without Harpo's typical harp accompaniment and with a young Lucille Ball.

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  Review by teamgal ★★★★

  Not as flashy as the better known NIGHT AT THE OPERA or DAY AT THE RACES but for a film pretty much confined to a single room it’s got extraordinary energy and is frequently hilarious.

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  Review by Filipe Furtado ★★

  The Marx are forced to settle for some very weak farce material, nearly all set in a hotel room. The source play wasn't written for them and the film struggle to fit both Harpo and Chico. Groucho's one liners are the least of his 30s films as well. There's less boring time with a normal couple than in the Sam Wood films, but they are not replaced by good jokes. Very sluggish as well.