bambergerd Review of Topsy-Turvy

Topsy-Turvy (1999)

Even if you like costumes and sex lives more than G&S, it's still too long

[3/10 · 1 January 2000]

I AM a G&S fan, but nothing in this movie would convince a newcomer that the operettas are fun. Though the movie has lots of Victorian detail (in case you want to know when the fountain pen was invented), its preoccupation is with contrasting the sex lives of the authors: Sullivan's well-known affairs, and the undocumentable and improbable notion that Gilbert wold not touch his wife because of problems with his mother. (Gilbert's wife is cast as rather plain -- she was, in fact, adorable.) Although there are large sections from the operettas, the hit tunes are scrupulously avoided -- and the singers are consistently off pitch. A hugely wasted opertunity, and much too long. If you want some fun with G&S, find a video of "The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan" (1953).