Groucho

As a fanatic for all things Groucho and Marx Brothers, I greatly enjoyed this production, and I recommend it, if you can find it, or know somebody who taped it back when it aired on HBO.

It is essentially an abridgment of Arthur Marx's stage production, "Groucho: A Life in Revue", which starred Frank Ferrante. (I recommend that even more, and you'll have a much easier time finding it - it's readily available on DVD from the major online outlets.)

This abbreviated version has a few minor, but not insignificant flaws. For one, Gabe Kaplan is not a particularly good actor (as anybody who ever watched an episode of "Welcome Back Kotter" knows) - and that's somewhat distracting. But his charisma, comedic timing, and dead-on impression of Groucho - as well as the considerable acting chops of his two co-stars - almost compensate for his thespian shortcomings.

Another problem is it's TOO abbreviated - I suppose they had to accommodate HBO's programming schedule, but a lot of great stuff was left out.

There are also some surprising historical inaccuracies, such as the assertion that the brother's nicknames "were the inspiration of a theater manager in Dayton, Ohio." That's not the generally-accepted story, nor even one of the less-accepted stories. In fact, I've never seen any evidence to support it in any of the many Groucho Marx or Marx Brothers books in or out of print.

But these are quibbles - it's still an enormously entertaining show, and if you are any sort of Marx Brothers fan, you will certainly enjoy watching it - if you can get your hands on a copy.

I just watched a VHS of this play from HBO after watching Groucho:A Life In Revue starring Frank Ferrante.and BOTH have their pluses and minuses.For one thing, as one reviewer said on target, Gabe Kaplan is not a very.good actor, but in the scenes as the older Groucho, Kaplan is actually better than Ferrante in both voice and manner. Michael Tucci is perfectly cast as Chico. Unfortunately, Harpo is reduced to a horn offstage.and a harp with no harpist. The set on this HBO show is not as well dressed as the Ferrante set either.

Another thing that drove me a little nuts was how Kaplan get going back and forth on the pronunciation of Chico' s name often incorrectly pronouncing it Cheek-oh instead of Chick-oh!

The actress Connie Danese plays several roles and is quite good except as Margaret Dumont. The actress in the Ferrante production does better here.as well.

I like the way Ferrante captured many more of Groucho' s persona in terms of physical actions many times recreating perfectly all the usual trademarks from the classic Marx Brother movies. Kaplan does none of these save for the stooped Groucho walk. Just watching Frank Ferrante make the make-up changes on stage in front of your eyes is a delight as well as a revelation. Plus the actor playing Chico in that production, while not having as much a resemblance as did Michael Gucci,but he did all the business both Chico and Harpo did in character.

Overall, the HBO Kaplan version is somewhat inferior to the Ferrante presentation.

Both are worth viewing, but I recommend seeing the Ferrante DVD first.

An excellent little gem! May be difficult to find. I believe it was originally an original HBO production. Gabe Kaplan does a gret Groucho Marx in this touching biography of one of the funniest men to ever live. Some great little know facts about Groucho and his brothers are also provided.

My Mother rented the movie 'cause the guy from welcome back Kotter was in it. What i expected was a cheaply made autobiographical picture about Groucho but instead it was a filmed theatrical show with 2 speaking parts. I was inthrawled from the very beginning.It was both touching and funny I recommend this movie to anyone. Gabe Kaplan makes the role his, after 5 mins you feel like your watching the real Groucho. 10/10