Spends a lot of time in this weird uncanny valley of the Marx Brothers playing actual human characters - thank god this didn't establish a trend, imagine if they continued getting cast in movies about real people after this, it makes me shudder.

But it manages to accumulate some real manic energy as it goes along, mostly courtesy of Harpo, who provides it in the form of a live turkey and his own dead body, among other things. Some surprisingly dark suicide gags add flavor to the last act, and the end result might actually be one of the strangest movies made by a studio. It's amazing what you can get done if you have a little money.

Probable the least funny Marx Brothers film of the 1930s. Mostly due to it not being original Marx Bros material. Only later adopted for them, compared to their other films which was writing taken from their own stage shows.

99% of this takes place in a hotel room they have to occupy so not to get thrown out before they can get a financial backer to visit them for a upcoming show they are producing. Frank Albertson gets thrown in as the straight guy/schmock and almost becomes the center of everything as the brothers are toned down here. Lucille Ball & Ann Miller are briefly here, but don't have any material to work with. They are just the dames. Donald MacBride as the hotel manager does get some good moments, inclduing the catchphrase of the movie - "Jumping butterballs!"

52 Years in 52 Weeks 2019, The Prequel: Film #48

Jumping butterballs!

Lesser Marx Brothers, but still pretty funny. Includes some top notch turkey content.

Probably the weakest of the Marx Brothers films, Room Service attempts to fit them to the material and not the material to them, which doesn’t work in this instance. Lacking in that machine-gun quick dialogue and repartee that was their trademark, it isn’t completely devoid of humour but it certainly feels undercooked and unmemorable, and doesn’t reach anywhere near the dizzying heights of their masterpieces.

The Marx Brothers doing a script not meant for them doesn't automatically make their comedy style work with it.

Viewed on TCM

What is missing from Room Service is Groucho's wit and for that reason it's not as funny as it should be.

According to IMDB.com: The original play was adapted into a The Marx Brothers screenplay by Morrie Ryskind, who co-wrote the stage and screen versions of The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930) and also co-wrote A Night at the Opera (1935). Much of the original play's strong language had to be toned down for the screen, into milder expletives such as "Jumping Butterballs!"
This is the only The Marx Brothers movie based on material not specially created for them.

Harpo still has some great moments especially when playing sick in bed.

JUMPING BUTTERBALLS!

The Marx are forced to settle for some very weak farce material, nearly all set in a hotel room. The source play wasn't written for them and the film struggle to fit both Harpo and Chico. Groucho's one liners are the least of his 30s films as well. There's less boring time with a normal couple than in the Sam Wood films, but they are not replaced by good jokes. Very sluggish as well.

Now I understand why Mr. Carlson thought turkeys could fly.

Una comedia muy de esos años, Tiene algunos momentos estupendos aunque es casi como una de los Marx de segunda fila, como si estuvieran contenidos.
Para compensar, nos ahorramos los interludios musicales de piano y arpa. Lo que agradezco enormemente.
Donald McBride, de director del hotel cascarrabias está magnífico.
Jumping Butterballs!!

watched

My least favorite Marx Brothers film. Still a good time though.

Probably the weakest of the Marx Brothers films, Room Service attempts to fit them to the material and not the material to them, which doesn’t work in this instance. Lacking in that machine-gun quick dialogue and repartee that was their trademark, it isn’t completely devoid of humour but it certainly feels undercooked and unmemorable, and doesn’t reach anywhere near the dizzying heights of their masterpieces.

Not bad. Feels like a drama with a few funny comebacks thrown in. No surrealism or anarchy or slapstick. Disappointing because the situations are ripe for the Marx Bros treatment. I wonder if they did this just for money or because they found the material biographical: a struggling theatre company trying to scrape money together for a play. Maybe they approved of playing out of character.

Very cool seeing a cute, young Lucille Ball as their girl Friday sidekick. And then Harpo appeared on her how many years later when she became a star.

I wonder if this is the inspiration for one of my favorite Looney Tunes, "Porky's Pig Feat". Same plot and similar villain.

The Marx Brothers doing a script not meant for them doesn't automatically make their comedy style work with it.

As the Marx Brothers are confined to a limited set, their attempts at comedy are prevented from ever achieving the outrageous bits that make their best work funny. Room Service suffers from being boring at its worst and forgettable at its best. These are comedic geniuses that got caught up in a con and played it a bit too straight.

Marx Brothers in a very non-Marx Brothers movie. Too many characters, not enough funny.

I was really hoping Lucile Ball bring forth billed would mean the girls would get to see a woman being funny, but she was just there for a few expository minutes. Lazier than the other Marx Brothers movies we’ve watched, though I like the idea of a one-room-play style film.

I cannot be stopped.
I will not stop. 
I will keep going until I have seen all the Marx brothers pictures at least once through. 
This is not a lie, I promise you! 
I now, must bid you ado
Farewell I must say, it is time to lay

Surprisingly uninteresting and only occasionally funny, Room Service wasn't initially written for the Marx Brothers, which explains why the jokes fall flat and don't match the personas at all.

Lucy Ball and the promising plot were also wasted, so that's a crime within itself.

Probably haven't seen this in about a decade, but this is more like Uncut Gems than I'd realised.