An Absurd Musical Comedy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a ridiculous musical comedy that follows Pseudolus, a slave, on his convoluted path to purchase his freedom. The film begins with Pseudolus scamming a man to win money, only to lose it after his masters discover it. He is narrowly saved from death by becoming a personal slave to a different woman. When hiding from her, as she is obsessive, Pseudolus meets Hero, the son of his masters, in a tree. Pseudolus barters with Hero, stating that he will help Hero get Philia in exchange for Pseudolus’ freedom. The story follows Pseudolus’ quest to matchmaking Hero and Philia. However, Philia was recently sold to wed Captain Gloriosus, who recently returned from battle. As Pseudolus attempts to stall the captain, Hero, and Philia run around Hero’s abode, looking for each other or hiding from others. Pseudolus decides to fake Philia’s death; however, this quickly goes astray when the captain holds a funeral service for Philia. Pseudolus’ friend dresses as Philia during the funeral, but Pseudolus’ scheme is ruined when the captain notices the friend’s movements. Thankfully, one of the men has been searching for his children through identical rings they all share. The man discovers that his son is the captain and his daughter is Philia. The film ends happily, with Hero and Philia falling in love, a family being reunited, and Pseudolus being freed. 

Overall I thought the film was entertaining, although very confusing, especially towards the end. The secondary characters tended to blend, so the ending, especially the near-death scene, was confusing. With all of the characters running around, it was difficult to keep track of the plot points. I enjoyed seeing Roman’s relationship with their slaves in the film, and although it was a bit dramatized, thought it was interesting how Pseudolus’s masters tended to be kind and trust him. As a musical comedy, it is understandable that the film ends happily, although this would not be realistic in Rome. The film’s extreme close-ups added to the film’s absurdity, and it was a film based on musical theater, as shown by the dramatic facial expressions.