Review of the Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection

Oddly enough, as I was watching Horse Feathers (one of the five Marx Brothers' movies from the DVD box set I gave to my wife as a Christmas present) I couldn't stop thinking about poor Jessica ("Read my lip-synch") Simpson's disastrous appearance on the Dolly Parton tribute at Kennedy Center a few weeks earlier. It was so bad, she pleaded with producer George Stevens Jr. not to air it on the CBS television special.

OK, giving Jessica Simpson the benefit of the doubt, I'm sure she's not a bad person. And although her clumsy performance exposed her as a phony, her tears were real. Jessica's obvious shame in coming across so badly in front of Dolly, her idol, was painfully sincere.

Even so, she deserved what she got. (As Dolly would probably say, "Get off that cross, honey, we need the wood.") In spite of being an incredibly mediocre singer who wouldn't last ten minutes on "American Idol", Jessica Simpson is still a celebrity in today's pop culture simply because she looks good on MTV. The bar that measures talent these days has been lowered so far down, it's damned near subterranean. And it's depressing.

But there was a time when the currency that bought movie stars their fame was talent. And the Marx Brothers SilverScreen Collection (Universal Sudios, 2004) is a big, goofball piggy bank stuffed with the lunatic genius of Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo Marx.

Now, don't make the mistake of thinking of the Marx Brothers as cinematic dinosaurs from the Jurassic era of Hollywood. This isn't a museum stocked with stale, forgotten jokes like banana peels, whoopee cushions, face-smearing cream pies and knock-knock gags.

Instead, what you realize is that the films Duck Soup, Horse Feathers, Monkey Business, Animal Crackers and The Cocoanuts were homework for future insane asylums like "SCTV", Saturday Night Live's Not Ready For Prime Time Players, "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "The Kids in The Hall". Why? Because the jokes still make you laugh.

However, it isn't just the bad puns, double entendres or slapstick that has us talking about the Marx Brothers 75 years later. When Groucho said, "I wouldn't join a club that would have me as a member," it's that joyful anarchism behind his words that strongly resonates with audiences today.

Comedians are, by their nature, outcasts. They're square pegs living in a world of round holes. But while others willingly cut off their own corners to fit in, the Marx Brothers gleefully grabbed a chainsaw and made the holes bigger. These guys were proud of who they were and fought like hell to stay that way.

Which brings me back to Jessica Simpson. I used to get angry with counterfeit singers like her until I realized that I just had to be patient and wait. Con artists go away eventually. Remember Milli Vanilli? The Spice Girls? Kevin Federline? You can't fake talent and, as usual, history will have the last laugh. And the Marx Brothers DVD collection is a triumphant celebration of the greatest comedy act in history.