Pirates of Penzance

Universal

1984

Rated: G

Running Time: approx 2 hrs.

Starring:  Rex Smith, Kevin Kline, Linda Rondstadt, Angela Landsbury, George Rose, Tony Azito

The Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, the Pirates of Penzance had become a hit on Broadway in the early eighties, so apparently confidence ran high that a movie of the play would be a good move.  There have been many G and S operas that have been treated like movies, but to my knowledge this is the first one that has ever been in movie theaters. 

 The story is of Frederick, a young pirate who having turned 21 is now able to leave the pirates forever, which he chooses to do.  He goes ashore and meets the love of his life, the fair Mable Stanley who is the daughter of a Major General.  He vows to become a new man for her, but the Pirates of his former affiliation come ashore and capture the general’s other daughters to marry them off.

 When a terrible secret is discovered by Frederick about his birth, he has to make the choice to go against his honor and duty which mean everything to him and stay with his love, or return to the pirate band.

 This is a faithful adaptation of a comedic opera, in terms of the spoken dialog and most of the songs.  The situations are so ridiculous and downright silly that no one can long take anything in it seriously, as it should be.  G and S opera often played up wackiness so high that it becomes parody of everything possible, which to small degrees is a disadvantage to modern generations of non-British who are not in on the joke.  However the music by Sir Arthur Sullivan is tremendous, breathtakingly beautiful and sweet, while also fitting the silly atmosphere.

 Even though this is a movie of a play, the sets and backdrops do nothing to suggest that it is anything but a play.  You know every set is in a studio somewhere (very small studios it seems), but if you know you’re watching something that would normally be on the stage then it works fine.  Some bigger names appear in this opera, including the hilarious Kevin Kline as the Pirate King and Murder She Wrote’s Angela Landsbury who sweetly proves to us again that she can act but not sing.  Every cast member works, though surprisingly for the role of a bass police officer they chose a tall, skinny baritone who borders on sounding homosexual.

 The point in the end is that if you are not a lover of G and S, comic opera or stage performances in general this is not likely something you’d want to waste the rental money on.  It’s not complicated enough to be long boring opera, but it’s not simple enough to be mindless entertainment either.