A Marxian Change of Pace
Based on the hit Broadway play, "Room Service" (1938) remains the only film not written specifically for the Marx Brothers. Except for a few priceless moments, this hectic farce never gels. Groucho, Harpo and Chico are shackled by William A. Seiter's lethargic direction and an incompatible supporting cast. The reliable presence of Margaret Dumont is sorely missed. "Room Service" should be viewed as a well-intentioned, yet unsuccessful experiment.

it's a terrible play, but it makes a wonderful rehearsal
Room Service features The Marx Brothers, Lucille Ball and a rather young Ann Miller in the only film The Marx Brothers ever made at R-K-O pictures. The plot moves slower than the typical Marx Brothers plot and the classic Marx Brothers one liners aren't there often; but Room Service was based on a play not written for The Marx Brothers so it's somewhat forgivable. Unfortunately, Room Service winds up being good but not great. I felt like I was on an airplane out of town to sunny, beautiful Aruba--but after taxiing down the runway the plane came screeching to an abrupt halt, never taking off. Sigh.

The action begins when Gordon Miller (Groucho Marx) is getting deeper and deeper into debt at New York City's Hotel White Way as he struggles to keep himself, the producer of a play, and the cast sheltered in a hotel until they can find a backer for the show. Gordon's buddies Harry Binelli (Chico Marx) and Faker Englund (Harpo Marx) try to help Gordon but they aren't too successful. When the author of the play, Leo Davis (Frank Albertson), comes to New York to stay with Gordon and the cast in the hotel it only means that now there's another person Gordon and his pals must harbor. Meanwhile, Christine Marlowe (Lucille Ball) plays a cast member of the show who is also trying to help get the show onto the stage.

Unfortunately, their luck is running out. A hotel top manager, Gregory Wagner (Donald MacBride) is furious that Gordon and his cast have run up a $1,200 bill (a lot in those days) and they can't pay. Wagner is even more enraged when he finds out that Gordon, his buddies and the cast have been allowed to run up such a high bill because Gordon's brother-in-law, Joseph Gribble (Cliff Dunstan), has been running the hotel.

Just when a wealthy backer finally comes through, things begin to get even more out of control. Expects to see some high jinks and silly scenarios as Gordon, his buddies and the cast all stall for time so that they can put on the show and finally get their profitable hit.

Can they stall the hotel's top management to make the show go on so they can have a hit? What happens when Gordon gets the idea that the playwright must pretend to be ill to stall for time and avoid them all being thrown out? Are the authorities alerted? Do doctors arrive to examine the "patient?" No spoilers here, folks--you'll just have to watch the movie to find out!

Look for some good choreography in scenes where the actors are all running around the hotel room in different directions all at once. The scene where the Marx Brothers and the playwright eat a much needed meal is also well done. The cinematography works well with different camera angles of the same set, too.

Room Service is a must for true Marx Brothers fans; but I can't tell you it's their best movie ever. It's good; but it's not great. The actors work very hard with the script they were given and the plot tries its best to be funny as much as possible, although the film never quite takes off to make Room Service a true classic. Casual fans of The Marx Brothers can wait to see Room Service until they've seen many more of the other Marx Brothers movies first.

Three stars.

Tent Service in Vermont!
Just can't wait for Coventry? Rent this 5 star film to pump you up! Groucho Marx, well known at previous phestivals, delivers strong performance here.

"There must be somebody I can sue."
ROOM SERVICE is the only film in the Marx filmography that was not specifically written for the Brothers. It was originally a stage play and adapted to the screen without regard for the peculiar talents of those who would be bringing the production to life. It shows. There's a good rule of thumb in regards to Marx Brothers films. The goofier the name of Groucho's character, the better the film. DUCK SOUP had Rufus T. Firefly. A DAY AT THE RACES had Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush. And ROOM SERVICE has, um, Gordon Miller. Yes, Gordon Miller. That must have had them rolling in the aisles.

The late Gene Siskel claimed that a movie fails if it is less interesting than a hypothetical documentary involving the same cast of actors and actresses sitting around having lunch. His rule definitely applies in this case. The Marx Brothers, Lucille Ball, Ann Miller. Who wouldn't want to eavesdrop on that meal? But who wants to see them in a movie that treats them all as generic characters? Certainly not me.

There are so many things wrong with ROOM SERVICE that I scarcely know where to start. The fact that it isn't funny is high on my list of complaints. So is the lack of a convincing bad guy. Come on, fellows, this is a Marx Brothers film where I'm supposed to have a stereotypical evil dude to boo and hiss at! The only person here to cheer against only wants Groucho (sorry, Gordon Miller) to pay off his IOUs. Hardly mustache-twirling behavior. And the couple we're supposed to be rooting for isn't much better (at least, I assume we're supposed to be rooting for them). The playwright character (the Zeppo-type straight man) is boring and whiney as all get out.

The thing that gets me about William A. Seiter's direction is how slow it is. Gags are dragged out way too long. One-liners that should be rapid fired come out at a snail's pace. The film's only savior is Harpo who is once again off in his own little silent universe. Ordinarily this allowed him to bounce his surreal antics off of other goofy goings-on. But here, he's the only source of fun. Groucho, Chico and Lucy are bound by the dialog in the script, and therefore simply can't be as funny as we know they're capable of being.

The picture's only real comedy moments come from scenes where the script was presumably vague enough to allow the Brothers to insert some actual funny stuff. Harpo destroying a hotel room chasing an obviously fake turkey and the scene of the Brothers enjoying their first meal in days are genuinely amusing moments, but such sequences are very few and very far between. And Lucille Ball is completely, utterly and totally wasted. A great shame.

Different, but not bad
This is definitely different than other Marx brothers movies. I think the main reason is that the material wasn't written for them specifically. In fact, they even had to write in a part for Harpo. So yeah, there was no Harpo on the harp, or Chico on the piano, or any moments of utter Marx madness which keeps me in stitches (unless you count Harpo chasing the turkey around the room, and breaking every single breakable thing there in his attempts). The good thing about this movie is, it's still funny. And it wasn't JUST the Marx boys that made it funny - the plot actually had some depth to it too. Which made it almost hard for me to follow at times. But I thought the ending was great. Especially Groucho & Chico just sitting there singing "Swing Low Sweet Chariot", and then seeing the same thing in a play a few minutes later...
Yeah, hard to explain. If you like the Marx brothers, I'd recommend you watch this - it's different, but not terrible either.