Il film pirata

I was a theatre snob when this film came out. I'd seen the play (operetta/light-opera) and other Gilbert and Sullivan offerings, and when this film was announced I donned my elitist hat, and wrongfully snubbed this film. At least in public.

Privately I thought it was okay, but still had misgivings. I mean, the theatre was an affair for those with true desire to see stage performances: A thing enjoyed by a certain club. To have it popularized and reworked for "the masses" felt like a jab. Like having something private torn away from you to be shared with all.

Well, like I say, I had mixed feelings regarding the film. On the one hand I found it a delightful fantasy for adults, with tons of innuendo and jokes. On the other hand it felt like a high-concept sexploitation film for teenagers, and that really outraged this viewer.

Or it did.

Through this confluence of emotions, and a few more years and screenings later, I've come to love it for what it is. A reminder of a somewhat simpler time for the youth oriented, but still ever so marginally polluted with 80's teenage sexual tension. A somewhat not-so-subtle attempt to pacify (not emasculate) the male. A heartfelt affair that actually has a lot of pleasantness to offer, but it's also rather saccharine to boot.

To me this is the kind of film you watch on a lazy weekend afternoon, or with some other friends (notably couples) you grew up with for a little romantic boost.

There's a number or two more added here from the original production, the dialog of course resembles nothing of the Victorian dictates once recited by the thespians, and there's lots of contemporary 80's references thrown in to boot.

I like the movie. I really do. Don't get me wrong. And, after a fashion I'm glad it was made, but as I say, it feels like a private world of us theatre snobs was forced out into the open without our approval. Even so it is a fun watch. Particularly Kristy McNichol's witty delivery. She's the star, and shines brightly.

Other than the superficial alterings of dialog and music, that's the real shift in this film. Kristy is the hero, not Frederick a-la the stage production. She's the one that gets things rolling, not her love interest. In retrospect, that was a logical film marketing maneuvre. So, in essence, you're watching the female version of the Pirates of Penzance.

There's tons of comedy here. Too many scenes and too many references to list. Some are delivered pretty fast, and almost whiz by if you're not on your toes. Note Mabel's expression as she rallies the police force with her final line. Or her interaction with the homage to Chief Inspector Crusoe. Really priceless comedic stuff. Other humor is a little telegraphed, some sight gags work, others not as much. Again, we're getting romance driven humor. Sex games without the sex.

Still, if you ever get a chance, go see a revival of the original "Pirates of Penzance". Or, better yet, rent or buy the televised stage production with the original 1980's cast available on DVD.

Either way give "The Pirate Movie" a shot. Me, I sure do wish I was young again, and had a woman like Mabel. It's probably the one roll in which I thought Kristy McNichole was really desirable. If you're a dude like me, and was around when this film was released, then watch it for that alone :-) Enjoy.

This is one of the movies that still stands out as the perfect example of the movies that was the eighties. It was wonderful and it is still as fun now as it was so many years ago. It's greatest testament is time; how long and how well it has endured. There will always be people (cynics from the 90's) that only measure a movie by the dollars and cents that it made in a certain time span. This movie is over twenty years old and still is that good. The academy awards gave 'million dollar baby' an academy award for best picture; let's see how good it endures twenty years from now! Political correctness is not necessarily that main test of how good a movie is. Like Ghostbusters and Goonies, a must see for movie enthusiasts who LOVED the eighties as much as I and many others do, that want to be entertained by movies and not judge a movie simply on how much dollars a certain movie makes or its political correctness.

Cuties Chris Atkins and Kristy McNichol, he of the blonde curls and she of the blonde curls, star in this wacky version of the old chestnut, Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert & Sullivan.

Atkins plays Frederic the boy pirate who falls for McNichol's Mabel. He was 21 at the time, two years after starring in Blue Lagoon, yet he retained the perennial look of a fifteen year old teenager. McNichol was a famous star at the time, but this is her first role as a femme fatale, not as a tomboy.

This movie could be a musical version of Blue Lagoon. See Atkins and McNichol cavorting in the skimpiest of costumes designed to show their pretty legs and other bits. Surprise, both of these two cuties can sing, and even dance a bit!

The story is too well know to bear repeating. But there are a couple of wacky twists, in the best tradition of the British music halls. Except this movie is an Australian production!

Of course we get the model of the modern major-general (Bill Kerr) with his famous solo song. But we also get a light sabre from Star Wars. We get Inspector Closeau from Pink Panther with a hilarious word play on "pirate" and "parrot". We get a bit of Indiana Jones. And the stars make those asides which are British music hall tradition, stopping in mid-scene to address the audience.

There's lots of double entendre jokes, again another British music hall tradition, where simple words are used with a possible vulgar or sexual meaning. See Frederic at the mercy of the pirate's sword say "nuts". To which the pirate points his sword at Frederic's boy treasures and says "But you'd still have one left".

A jolly good movie. One for a cold winter's evening to warm the heart. Even the old Victorians would approve of this one.

Anyone rating this less than 7 clearly doesn't understand the film at all. When Gilbert & Sullivan first wrote The Pirates of Penzance in the late 1800's, they were writing it in satire of the operatic idiom. If the film's title wasn't enough of a clue in itself, The Pirate Movie is a satire of the sort of musical adventure cinema we were seeing in the 70's and early 80's (see Grease, Xanadu, The Wiz, Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, Man of La Mancha, Rock & Roll High School... the list goes on!). Also, it was just meant to be a lot of fun. If you are going in, expecting something with the musical mastery of West Side Story, The Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables, you are looking in the wrong place. If a film that could be the lovechild of The Goonies and ABBA sounds intriguing, then you are going to have a blast! So put away your critic's notepad, pop some corn and enjoy!

when i was younger, my siblings and i wanted to rent a movie. my mother saw this in the movie store and rented. from then on its been our favorite movie of all time. its totally 80's but its awesome. the music, the dance, the story . . . its hysterical! the things they spoof . . . its total nostalgia . . . i say watch it and love it. kristy mcnichol is awesome!!! i would love to see her comeback!! and then there's christopher atkins, total 80s heartthrob, ted hamilton . . . maggie kirkpatrick . . . and who can forget bill kerr . . . its a MUST buy . . . great movie for children, great movie for the whole family to enjoy . . . thats all i have to say . .. except out of 10 starts i give it a 12.5!!