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6.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Cocoanuts remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Okay, look, if you're even thinking about watching The Cocoanuts today, you gotta know what you're in for. This isn't some slick, fast-paced modern comedy. This is the Marx Brothers at their absolute earliest on film, fresh off their Broadway hit. If you love rapid-fire puns, absurd logic, and a kind of charming, ramshackle chaos, you'll probably have a blast. But if you need a super tight plot or get easily bored by old-school pacing and musical numbers that pop up out of nowhere, you might find yourself checking your watch. It’s a definite niche watch now, and that’s perfectly fine. 🤷♀️
The premise is simple enough: Groucho runs the Hotel de Cocoanut in Florida during the land boom. Naturally, it’s all falling apart, and he’s trying to auction off land he probably doesn’t even own. This setup is really just a thin excuse for the brothers to do their thing, which, let’s be honest, is all anyone ever came to see.
Groucho’s patter is just relentless. I mean, the man doesn’t take a breath between zingers and insults, especially directed at the wonderfully put-upon Margaret Dumont. Her bewildered reactions are truly half the show; she’s the perfect straight woman to his glorious nonsense.
Then Chico and Harpo wander in, as if from another dimension, and things immediately escalate into beautiful madness. Chico’s piano playing is a highlight, but it’s his circular, nonsensical arguments with Groucho that really shine. The whole “why a duck?” routine, or whatever they call it here, is just pure gold – it’s not just the line, it’s the sheer *stubbornness* of his logic.
Harpo, of course, is a silent force of nature. He’s just there, honking his horn, stealing silverware, and generally causing delightful mayhem. His physical comedy is surprisingly precise, even when it looks completely spontaneous and unhinged. You almost don’t notice him slipping a whole bunch of forks into his coat pocket during a perfectly serious scene. 😂
And Zeppo… oh, Zeppo. He’s the handsome, normal one, trying to sing a ballad and woo the girl. He’s fine, I guess. He mostly serves to advance the actual plot, which everyone else seems intent on ignoring.
The plot, by the way, involves a jewel robbery and the aforementioned land auction. Honestly, it’s so flimsy you’ll forget it’s even there most of the time. It’s just a hanger for the real stars: the gags.
The musical numbers, though. Some are pleasant enough, especially Mary Eaton’s singing, but a few just bring the whole movie to a halt. You can practically feel the stage origins here, like they just dropped the Broadway numbers right into the film without much thought for cinematic flow. I just wanted the brothers back, pronto.
The camera work is pretty static, very much like watching a filmed play. Which, for their first proper film, makes a lot of sense, right? They were still figuring out how to translate their stage energy to the screen. It’s raw, a little unpolished.
One moment that always sticks with me is during the auction scene. It gets absolutely wild. Everyone’s shouting, Groucho’s making up bids, Chico’s adding to the confusion with his own peculiar brand of numbers. It’s a glorious, beautiful mess of noise and misunderstandings. You really feel the sheer energy.
The movie eventually wraps up its little jewel heist storyline, but honestly, what you remember are the jokes. The sheer audacity of their humor. The way Groucho just *keeps going* is kinda amazing, like, he doesn't ever take a breath. It’s less about the story and more about the experience of being caught in their comedic whirlwind. For that alone, it’s absolutely worth a watch, especially if you want to see where the cinematic chaos began. 🌀
IMDb 5.3
1928
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