"Groucho: A Life in Review" is the sort of DVD that clearly is self- selecting. After all, folks who don't care about the Marx Brothers clearly won't bother seeing the film in the first place. Still, my score of 7 is based on the average person watching the film. Fans might easily score this 8 or 9. If you are dying to see a guy look and act like Groucho, Frank Ferrante does about as good a job as anyone can today!
"Groucho" is a filmed stage performance of this play. Although is stars Ferrante, on hand are Roy Abramsohn and Marguerite Lowell to play a few other characters. Abramsohn deserves special mention because in addition to playing both Chico and Harpo, he also performs on the piano and harp just like these guys used to perform! As for Ferrante, he was exceptional and captivating. Early and mid-way through the film, he was very funny and I found myself laughing out loud many times. Later, however, as Groucho aged, the character became a bit more maudlin--sad that although he could make folks laugh, he had great difficulty relating to those around him in any other way. This was true of Groucho in real life and the performance captured this quite well. Overall, very well done and even non-Marx Brothers fans will no doubt have a few laughs...just not as many as the more devoted fans of the comedy legends.