74
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonVolcanically funny. [23 Dec 2005, p.C7]
- 83The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasIn casting the brothers as stowaways on an ocean liner, Monkey Business gets laughs from broad Keystone Kops chase scenes, but extends the absurdity even further with bizarre one-liners (Groucho claims he "licked his weight in wild caterpillars") and a sequence in which all four brothers try to get off the boat by impersonating Maurice Chevalier.
- 80TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineOne of the Marx Brothers' funniest films, Monkey Business was their first to be written directly for the screen and is noticeably less stagy than earlier efforts.
- 80Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasMcLeod was in charge of the mayhem, S. J. Perelman had a hand in the script and Monkey Business is just as funny as it was in 1931. [25 Mar 1986, p.7]
- 75LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenLarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenMost of the picture takes place on a luxury cruise liner – on which Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo are stowaways – and the setting makes for a wonderful comic playground. Racing up and down decks and in and out of cabins, the brothers exhibit a more sophisticated sense of staging and interplay than they did in something like Animal Crackers.
- Whether it is really as funny as Animal Crackers is a matter of opinion. Suffice it to say that few persons will be able to go... and keep a straight face.
- 70Time OutTime OutWith Monkey Business, their first screen original, the team cast caution to the winds, helped by a perky script and some lunatic sight gags.
- 70The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelHeavenly, corny nonsense.
- 60Chicago ReaderChicago ReaderA bit disorganized, it carries hints of surrealism (especially in Harpo's extraordinary performance) that later flowered in Duck Soup.