Rating: 
Summary: The Cocoanuts: A nutty great time!
Review: The Cocoanuts is without a doubt one of the greatest comedy movies of all time, due entirely to the Marx brother's superb comedy routines!!!
Margaret Dumont, to Chico: "What is the first number?" [that he would play on the piano]
Chico: "Number One!"
How can you not love it?The only boring parts are when the singers sing and/or dance. ALL the Marx brother's scenes are just as funny as anything you'd see. But do be warned that the sound quality is somewhat poor, it is defintiely muffled, but that doesn't detract at all from my enjoyment, and I don't think it would from yours either. The Cocoanuts is a real gem! If you watch it it will be excited to be laughing so much. And here's a joke of my own that sounds like something Chico would say. So Chico steps on Groucho's foot. Groucho says "Ow, my corn!" And Chico says "Ahh, you crazy! Corn doesn't grow on feet, it grows on ears!" Remember that is my own joke, and appears courtesy of Market store, on 125th street, 125th street and 125th street. WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!! It is TOO good not to! ps...have seen all the Marx bros. movies MANY TIMES and I know what I'm talking about
Rating:
Summary: And They're Off...
Review: The Cocoanuts" was the Marx Brothers first screen production after a successful start on the stage. I understand that their stage productions were known for the brothers's ability to ad lib in every preformance. Their first movie was a great success but you can tell that they were (by THEIR standards) a bit reserved. It has all of the classic Marx Brothers situations; a smart alec Groucho chasing after a rich Margaret Dumont, Chico who never quite gets things correctly understood, Harpo's pantomime routines, Chico on the piano and Harpo on the harp.
The plot is simple enough. Groucho operates a hotel in Florida and is trying to strike it rich in a questionable real estate deal. Plots only serve as an excuse for comedy in a Marx Brothers movie and the brothers keep things pretty zany throughout the movie. The music isn't half bad from the rest of the cast. My favorite song was "I Lost My Shirt" sung to the tune of "The March of the Toreodors".
This is a great beginning for the Marx Brothers with lots of good laughs. This is the movie with the "Why a Duck" routine between Groucho and Chico and it's one of their all-time best. Some of their later movies were of limited entertainment value but all of their first seven movies are top-notch.
Rating: 
Summary: THE GREAT ZANIES OF FILM.
Review: The great zanies of film romp through a Florida hotel with dizzying speed in this nearly plotless farce. When a guest calls for some ice water, Groucho cheekily answers "I'll send up an onion. That'll make your ice water!" Admittedly, this is a crudely made early talkie, filmed at Paramount's Astoria Studios on Long Island: the soundtrack varies in quality and at times, the camera is virtually immobile with the great comedians leaping into their scenes on the set. The "acting" of some of the secondary players is atrocious and many lines were miffed by the actors & were kept in nevertheless. Photography-wise, there were a few innovative camera shots: an overhead look at the dancing chorines and a clever scene which ingeniously shows Chico playing the piano from the front. The little seen (and little talented) Mary Eaton plays Margaret Dumont's daughter Polly Potter; she sings an eccentric song entitled MONKEY-DOODLE-DOO. Penelope is played by the elegant Kay Francis (who sports a daring, mannish-like haircut). Within a few years, she would blossom into Warner Bros. premier sob sister of the early thirties. Contrary to popular belief, this was NOT the boys film debut; that was in an apparently lost obscure silent film by the name of HUMOR RISK. A fun and fascinating antique curio.
Rating: 
Summary: A Historical Artifact
Review: There are reasons the first Marx Brothers film is rarely seen. One is that a decent print probably doesn't exist -- and Universal hasn't done a lot to clean this one up. More a historical artifact than a film classic, the DVD suffers from muffled, uneven sound and visuals that are sometimes badly faded, sometimes overly contrasted. The technical weaknesses could be accepted if the film was worthwhile. Unfortunately, the movie has almost nothing to offer anyone but a Marx Brothers completist. True, the auction has some amusing moments, but the "viaduct" routine is highly overrated and short to boot. Harpo's stuff is simply a warmup for the later films (unless you watch his face, which shows an innocent joy). On top of that, Zeppo, for all his drawbacks, is almost invisible. Instead, the juvenile lead is played by a toothy, obnoxious Oscar Shaw. Just to keep things a little balanced, Kay Francis as the villainness is actually fun to watch, and Margaret Dumont is splendid in creating the cliche she ultimately became. In addition, The Cocoanuts keeps reminding us that it's a musical, not a specialized vehicle for the Marxes lunacy. The reminders, though, are unwelcome. The Irving Berlin songs are richly forgettable -- Groucho doesn't even have a song. And when the musical highlights are a song called "Monkey Doodle Doo" and a Carmen take-off song about a shirt sung by a supporting character, you know you're in the tinniest part of Tin Pan Alley. The dancing (of which there's far too much) is generally ragged and uninspired.
Rating:
Summary: A Vote for Silliness
Review: There are some terrific reviews here, almost all have a lot to say that will help anyone enjoy (or at least understand) this movie better. However, to my mind, the one element of this flick that makes it so special is its capacity for silliness--something that we in our self conscious age have almost lost as a concept. The Bro's ability to apparently TRULY NOT CARE about how those around them will react to their zaniness--like a child at its best--is disbturbing (while its amusing) because it holds up to us what we have lost while growing up. See it and set yourself free.
Rating:
Summary: A Pity
Review: This could have been a much better film. It should only be seen if you are a true Marx Bro fan. There is minimal humor in this film. The audio and video quality of this film is terrible even so.
Rating:
Summary: Primitive, charming, and funny
Review: This film can seem technically primitive. It usually employs one fixed camera and rarely has close-ups, the quality of many of the reels is poor, the staging is at times stagy, the transitions between scenes can be poor, etc. Nonetheless, this film introduced a major technical advance by photographing a group of dancers from above, taking advantage of the geometric qualities of their arrangments. This film is an odd hybrid of a Broadway musical (with music by Irving Berlin) and of Marx Brothers wit, Ziegfield Folly dancing, and vaudeville humor and music sketches. The directors took a little bit of everything in the theaters of the day and poured them into the film -- a "kitchen sink" approach to filmmaking. They must have figured that by doing so there would be something in the film for everyone. The problem is that they didn't know how to integrate all of these disparate elements, which is why the film seems so disjointed. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating window to the world of 1920s stage entertainment and early talkie films. We get to experience flapper fashions and dancing, the operatic singing style of the pop singers of the day, spirited Vaudville sketches, and so on. It's all very charming. Perhaps most surprising is how much female flesh is seen in this movie, even though the Hollywood censors had toned down motion pictures by then. As this film attests, 1920s films were more revealing than the films of the next decade. Several people have slammed the musical interludes. Personally, I thought that the music numbers were catchy, as we'd expect of Irving Berlin's music. Of course, the music suffers from somewhat dated orchestral arrangments and poor sound, but the infectiousness of the music still comes through. It's true that the dancing is not as polished as in some later musical films, but the dancing style of the 20s was unique, and this is a rare and entertaining display of it. The line dancing is joyful and unpretentious. Yes, Cocoanuts is an odd, often clumsy film made by people who thought that making a film meant filming a stage show, but the Marx Brothers' humor and the charming songs and dances of that era make this a fun film to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Slow, early Marx, but a solid start!
Review: This is a film that is good to watch if you like slow-paced movies. The plot does take a while to get established, and then after the apparent climax at the auction, the film slowly drags to a conclusion. In their next two films, "Animal Crackers" and "Monkey Business" there is a similar trend of building up to a climax and coasting to the end. In "Animal Crackers", the film slowed after the painting was stolen, and in "Monkey Business" once the brothers snuck off the boat the pace also slowed down. However in this movie the Marxes demonstrate their potential for their future films. Groucho is at his best as he always is, spouting off quick one-liners whenever necessary, and Chico and Harpo are slowly coming into character themselves. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable film and a great piece of movie history.
Rating:
Summary: The first Marx brothers I saw and loved it!!
Review: This was the first Marx brothers movie I had seen, and coincidentally their first release, and it cracked me up. Harpo is in top form here, the scene near the end at the party is hilarious, especially when Harpo walks into the party wearing a hat with the strap around his nose and the expression on his face is priceless. Also Harpo's facial expressions after hearing the boring speeches given at the dinner table are classic. The back and forth between Groucho and Chico are great.. "Viaduct?, I don't know why a duck?" If you want a good dose of the Marx Brothers earlier energy and hilarious antics then this movie is a must see, many of their skits are repeated in later movies. I highly recommend this movie first before any of their others.
Rating:
Summary: Not so fruity
Review: Though The Cocoanuts is the Marx brothers' first official film, it is not the best place to start. A beach-side hotel and a young romance are turned upside down with a jewelry theft while three comics (the Marx brothers) come in and out to [set things straight]. There are some downright hilarious scenes in this movie that will have you rolling on the floor, complimented with one of the funniest songs I've heard in movie history. Unfortunately, there aren't enough of these to go around and make the overall movie the laugh-fest that it should be. If you are a fan of the Marx brothers, then you will really enjoy this film. Otherwise, check out Animal Crackers and/or Duck Soup first and come back to this one once you've got the Marx-esque humor under your belt. Another word of warning: The Cocoanuts has a lot of song and dance numbers in it; a lot. This is also complimented by a terrible sound/film recording, making it almost unpleasant to watch.
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