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Marx Brothers
May. 13th, 2011 09:28 amHalf of our Lyric group saw Animal Crackers at the Lyric last night. (The other half was sick or out of town or destroyed by the Red Line Disaster that apparently trapped people on a train outside of Davis for about two and a half hours); perhaps they will go later.
Having seen very little Marx Brothers other than the amount that seeps into you as part of American culture, it was interesting. Even an imitation Groucho was darned compelling to watch and listen to (and, having watched some bits of the movie on Youtube later, the Lyric version was more turned-up-to-11 than the real Groucho), and I enjoy physical comedy when it's clever, which it generally was. (Why were there only three brothers on the program cover? Buffy the Vampire Slayer has taught me that Zeppo is the one to ignore, but still... I didn't even realize he was supposed to be a Marx Brother until later.)
But... I don't get why "The gate swung open and a fig newton entered" is funny. It's clearly supposed to be, but it sails right over my head. I hate to have jokes explained, but it's going to be bugging me for days.
Having seen very little Marx Brothers other than the amount that seeps into you as part of American culture, it was interesting. Even an imitation Groucho was darned compelling to watch and listen to (and, having watched some bits of the movie on Youtube later, the Lyric version was more turned-up-to-11 than the real Groucho), and I enjoy physical comedy when it's clever, which it generally was. (Why were there only three brothers on the program cover? Buffy the Vampire Slayer has taught me that Zeppo is the one to ignore, but still... I didn't even realize he was supposed to be a Marx Brother until later.)
But... I don't get why "The gate swung open and a fig newton entered" is funny. It's clearly supposed to be, but it sails right over my head. I hate to have jokes explained, but it's going to be bugging me for days.