Room Service Reviews

I love the Marx Brothers, but this movie wasn't as good as their other movies. It felt slow and very scripted, no ad libs. Also, it felt as though the screenwriter gave the other actors more jokes than the Marx Brothers. Groucho seemed really quiet in this movie, he didn't get to say much, and I didn't like that. I was disappointed with this movie. Towards the end it gets funnier, though, so it wasn't all bad.

A few nice moments, but mostly meh

JUMPING BUTTERBALLS!
Adapted from a stage play, which is obvious when you notice that nearly the entire movie is filmed within two adjoining hotel rooms. Made for RKO, so except for Ryskind who had written for some other Marx Brothers movies, they had a whole different production team and supporting cast. Still very funny situations and opportunities for madcap Marx antics, but no musical numbers except a few bars of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Ball is an actress in the play Groucho is trying to produce and his assistant, but she fades into the background amidst the brothers' schemes. Miller has next to no screen time and no chance of making an impression. Albertson is the author of the play, a whiny, small town bumpkin who is taken in by all the craziness. Dunstan plays Groucho's half brother and hotel manager, so he represents the authority of the hotel, but also goes along with Groucho's and Chico's plans without too much trouble. MacBride, as Wagner the efficiency expert, is really the stiff that the Marx Brothers are trying to tear down with their anti-authority hijinks. The man from the collection agency, the man representing the financial backer for the play, the Russian want-to-be actor, and the doctor each pop up in one or two scenes to move the plot and supply the set up for a couple gags. Several high quality visual and verbal gags are included. I must say that my favorite was when the doctor tries to get Harpo to say "Ahhh" too.

I really liked this zanny Marx Brothers film. I really enjoyed how much of it was confined to a single room and the someones coming, quick hide! running gap is used to the extreme. Again, fans of the comedy trio should enjoy this film even if it doesn't rate as one of their best.

Highly enjoyable from the Marx brothers. Unlike many of their other films, "Room Service" has a relatively coherent and followable story (instead of just "random" gags and musical numbers) and I liked that. Harpo has a pretty big role in this, and overshadows Groucho. Perhaps Groucho's less prominent role can explain why it's not one of their best, seeing that we miss many witty commentaries from Groucho. A must watch for the fans nevertheless.

Lots of fun.

Bugs Bunny was baed on Groucho and he was always the best part of the Marx Brothers. Mainly because he was the only one who said anything interesting.

Although it certainly isn't as zany as most of the other Marx Brothers movies, it is still great fun. Ann Miller and Lucille Ball in the cast is a plus. I also enjoyed the fact there was not an out of place musical number.

Even with the addition of Lucile Ball (who never really gets to show off her comedy acting chops in the film at all) this proved to be one of the least funniest Marx Brothers movies I've seen.
It's got some good lines scattered throughout the movie courtesy of Chico and Groucho's back and forth one liners, but it doesn't make it high up in the catergory of my favorite Marx Brothers movies. But for the avid fan of the brothers or just old comedies in general, you'll find something to enjoy and it'll be worth the watch for you.

"I still think it's a terrible play, but it makes a wonderful rehearsal."

For once Harpo outshines his brothers in this unrecognized classic. Whether it's chasing a live turkey in their hotel room or eating peas, one at a time, but doing it very fast; he's really the star of the film.

My favorite scene though is his check-up by a doctor that the hotel management has brought in to see if he really has an infectious disease that the brothers have said he has (to stay in the room even though they're out of money). They've painted his face with huge spots and given him a tiny doll that will squeak when pressed. Of course, Harpo NEVER talks; but when the doctor says "Say 'ah'." Harpo makes the doll squeak. The doctor is puzzled and all chaos ensues.

Lucille Ball co-stars in a 'straight' roll, but I always think of the "I Love Lucy" episode with Harpo and her dressed up as Harpo. The famous dancer / actress Ann Miller also co-stars in "Room Service" - a great little movie!

Definitely a lesser Marx flick, but it's not really a Marx flick. It was a play that they were wedged into.
Not bad, but not too good, either. But it does have Lucille Ball in an early role.

Unusual for the bros, but I still like it - it has a much more developed and paced plot than most of their others.

Despite what some users say about this Marx classic, this is my fave! Highly recommended.

Groucho Marx plays a shifty stage producer whose racked up a substantial debt at the hotel he's using to lodge the cast for his latest show. The ornery hotel inspector (Donald MacBride) is on the verge of closing the production before it even opens, but a dosage of Marxian mayhem could win the day once again. The Marx Brothers starred in some of the funniest movies ever made, but the law of diminishing returns had set in by the time this one came to screen. Most of the scenes in this story turgidly drag on while lacking any memorable bits. Room Service, which wasn't written with the Marx Brothers in mind, doesn't have enough of Groucho's witticisms, Harpo's pantomime antics, or Chico's conniving.

It holds up as one of the funniest films ever made. Most say it's not the Marx Brother's best, but I have a soft spot for it.

Well-made in typical RKO fashion.Not the best from the Marx Bros. Lucille Ball had only a very minor role and not comedic.

I really liked this zanny Marx Brothers film. I really enjoyed how much of it was confined to a single room and the someones coming, quick hide! running gap is used to the extreme. Again, fans of the comedy trio should enjoy this film even if it doesn't rate as one of their best.

What Kind of Hotel Has Its Own Theatre?

This script was not written for the Marx Brothers, the only movie they ever made with a script which wasn't theirs. They didn't write their own scripts, though I've no doubt they contributed to them, but they almost exclusively performed in material written directly for them. The fact that they didn't this time is obvious. Leaving aside the fact that it was remade six years later starring Frank Sinatra (I haven't seen the remake), which is pretty well unthinkable when it comes to any other Marx Brothers movie, Groucho's character has a name an actual human might have. I strongly suspect that the script was altered so that it could work as a Marx Brothers picture, but it doesn't have quite the same mood as you'd expect. I mean, for one thing, there are no musical numbers. I'm glad the subplot characters don't get one, of course, because those do nothing but drag down the action. But there isn't even a harp solo, and what kind of Marx Brothers movie doesn't have a harp solo?

This time, Groucho is Gordon Miller, a theatrical director. Miller is putting on the play [i]Hail and Farewell[/i], only he doesn't actually have the money with which to do so. He is putting up twenty-two actors in the hotel run by his brother-in-law, Joe Gribble (Cliff Dunstan). Only of course Miller can't pay for the rooms for twenty-two people and has given Gribble a piece of the show. Only Gregory Wagner (Donald MacBride), who works for the hotel chain, has shown up two months early to examine the books, and the play hasn't paid off yet. At the same time, Leo Davis (Frank Albertson), who wrote the play, comes to town, where he falls in love with Hilda (Ann Miller) out of nowhere. And Christine (Lucille Ball), one of the actresses from the show, has found Simon Jenkins (Philip Wood), who is an agent of a man willing to back the play, only they have to hold out until they can get the check and get it cashed. Hilarity, of course, ensues.

Another way you can tell it wasn't written for the Marx Brothers is that Groucho's character has a brother-in-law. Now, of course, the Marx Brothers were actual brothers, though I don't think they really played them through most of the movies. In general, part of the fun is watching Groucho's character meeting at least one of the brothers for the first time. However, it seems in this movie that he has a sister, and that just feels wrong. This is because it feels wrong for any of the Marx Brothers, except possibly Zeppo, to have anything which might be called a normal life. An ordinary sister who has an ordinary husband? Unthinkable. Unbelievable. Some friend of unknown provenance, certainly. Though I can see that you'd need to have a pretty strong connection with someone in order to let twenty-two of his closest friends camp out in the hotel where you work and run the risk of losing you your job. If the production starred someone else, that would work. But it doesn't. It stars Groucho, and that's a problem.

Further, his actual brothers essentially don't matter. Chico plays Harry Binelli, who appears to have known Miller for years and run all sorts of old scams with him. This is a believable relationship, of course. But it's also an unnecessary one in terms of the story, and it wouldn't surprise me to know that no character like him exists in other versions of the story. Certainly expendable is Harpo as Faker Englund, who gets no lines (of course), conveys no useful information, chases no girls--doesn't even get to play the harp. He and Chico seem almost as severed from the production as Zeppo, who supposedly threatened to join the cast if their contract demands were not met. Chico gets some funny enough lines, but he doesn't do anything throughout the production which could not be done by Groucho. Which is better than Harpo, who doesn't really do much of anything which needs to be done at all.

It's still funny, of course, and it's an interesting moment in history. It's the Marx Brothers and Lucille Ball, though she doesn't get much screen time or many lines. It's the only movie the Marx Brothers ever did for RKO, which Lucille Ball and her husband later bought and renamed Desilu. The very fact that it's the only movie they did which wasn't written for them is actually worthy of note so far as I am concerned. And of course this is certainly the only movie ever made where one version starred the Marx Brothers and another starred Frank Sinatra. However, I do not really consider this a Marx Brothers movie because of that very fact. This is a movie, perhaps the movie, with the Marx Brothers in it. (Leaving aside Groucho's bit part in [i]Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?[/i]) It's a decent way to while away 78 minutes, but there's a reason it's not one of the Marx Brothers movies anyone has ever heard of. Probably true of Frank Sinatra and [i]Step Lively[/i], too.

Of the 12 Marx Bros movies, I rate 8 films as being Marx Bros Classics. This may be a fun movie to watch with a few good bits, but it misses the cut. It is way too slow paced and way too scripted to be considered a Marx Bros Classic.

Despite what some users say about this Marx classic, this is my fave! Highly recommended.