What a waste of my time!!!

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Instant Favorite.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It has been about ten years since I last saw Brain Donors and had virtually forgotten that it existed.The movie follows Night at the Opera so closely that it is virtually a scene for scene remake of the original, which I didn't know at the time. You have to give Dennis Dugan credit, even though I don't think he is the most talented director or actor for that matter, he certainly nails it here.There were so many ways that this could have been a disaster but the only stumbling block is Mel Smith as the Chico character, called Rocco here. He is quite good at sarcastic remarks but I was always reminded that it was Mel Smith and not a recreation of Chico Marx.John Turturro, looking oddly like Barton Fink, is pure genius. He has always done comedy well, but you have to have perfect timing as Groucho. He succeeds both as the sardonic Groucho but there is also a more tender side to the character, which Turturro also perfects in the scenes with Juli Donald.Bob Nelson is incredible. It takes a certain kind of courage to play a total buffoon. Here, he not only mimics Harpo but he manages to throw a little Pee-Wee Herman in as well. Remember the opening scene from Pee-Wee's Big adventure? So, it's a wonder that so many of the old critics, who by the way weren't so old when this was released, gave it such indifference. It is at least ten times better than the disgusting gross-out comedies which are churned out repeatedly today.

A short word on Brain Donors (1992): Get it. I don't even think it was featured for a full week at the cinemas, but it made cable and that's where I found it. It is truly a great fast talking Marx Brothers movie--but made fifty years later. John Turturro is Groucho, Mel Smith is an English Chico and Bob Nelson is not quite a mute Harpo. But that's all right, we needed a new Marx Brother movie anyhow, and these guys will do. It's truly a clone of "Night At The Opera" but dressed up nineties-style and ballet instead of opera. So get it anyway and be prepared to laugh. By the way it came from the group that did Naked Gun and Hot Shots! movies, so you will know what you are in for. Enjoy!

I never do this (in fact, this is my first time), but I read the glowing reviews and bought the VHS and watched it...and it was awful. A sad, pathetic attempt at humor, seriously miscast and poorly written/directed. The pacing is turgid, the 'fast paced patter' is...well, awful. It makes those of us who love the Marx Bros (which means the mindset of the 1930s) cringe; you can't bring back what's gone. This is a vapid attempt to revive a sensibility that died over 70 years ago. Watch it if you want; in fact, my copy is for sale.If you really want to watch something funny, why not try one of these: Funny Bones (with Jerry Lewis); The Cat and the Canary (with Bob Hope); My man Godfrey; Along Came Jones (Cooper); The Big Liebowski, and The Nutty Professor (Jerry Lewis again), just to name a few.

This movie is funny, not ha ha funny, but stop breathing turn blue fall on the floor pass out funny. Whether you find it funny at all will depend on one thing, do you think that a Marx Brothers style movie could be made now? If you don't think so or hate the Marxes then don't bother seeing it, you'll be wasting your time. However, if you like comedy that's both clever and stupid in the classic Marx sort of way, see this film. The plot has Groucho, er...John Turturro playing a shyster lawyer who is trying to bilk a rich widow of her money by fronting for a ballet. Add to the madness Mel Smith in the Chico role and the incredibly under rated Bob Nelson in a role Harpo would have played if he talked. Its all madness, mis-representation and misdirection that ends up on stage in a ballet only an insane person could have come up with (its at this point breathing becomes optional).See this movie.Its simply one of the greatest screen comedies, even though almost no one has seen it.10 out of 10.