Boy, talk about your overrated critical darlings. "Topsy Turvy" lacks a ton of the elements that most folks, me included, need for it to be a movie. Like a plot, for instance. Or any kind of story. There is no drama, no suspense, no comedy-- nothing really develops here. There's not even an arty, weird point-- There's nothing. And, we are shown nothing new.
One doesn't need special effects, gimmicks, marquee stars, etc.-- but one DOES need a reason to watch something for 2-3 hours, and this movie didn't really deliver. I like Gilbert and Sullivan stage shows-- I've seen at least 20 performances of this and that over the years-- and admittedly, it was mildly interesting to see a dramatic depiction of what they looked like, how they sounded and moved, etc. But that kind of static visualizing gets old in 5 minutes, and one gets desperate for an engaging story of some kind.
In a way, this movie was nothing more than a kind of extended animatronic robot display, like the singing raccoons with banjos at Chucky Cheese. "Ooo-- there's Gilbert! Ooo-- there's Sullivan! Wow-- they move!"
Yeah, but they don't actually DO anything. I gave this flick a generous "6."
One doesn't need special effects, gimmicks, marquee stars, etc.-- but one DOES need a reason to watch something for 2-3 hours, and this movie didn't really deliver. I like Gilbert and Sullivan stage shows-- I've seen at least 20 performances of this and that over the years-- and admittedly, it was mildly interesting to see a dramatic depiction of what they looked like, how they sounded and moved, etc. But that kind of static visualizing gets old in 5 minutes, and one gets desperate for an engaging story of some kind.
In a way, this movie was nothing more than a kind of extended animatronic robot display, like the singing raccoons with banjos at Chucky Cheese. "Ooo-- there's Gilbert! Ooo-- there's Sullivan! Wow-- they move!"
Yeah, but they don't actually DO anything. I gave this flick a generous "6."