Topsy-Turvey Review by Tim Wick

Four out of Five Beakers

If you watch "At the Movies with Roger Ebert" or read any number of national columns by critics with a far larger audience than me, you have probably heard of "Topsy-Turvey". It has made quite a few well read/seen top ten lists for 1999. We here in the frozen north had to wait until the waning days of January 2000 to get a glimpse at this film and see what all the talk was about.

Frankly, I am still recovering from the crick in my neck since it was clear we were not the only people who had heard of the film and thus we ended up in the front row. I think that if a movie is good from the front row, then it will be good from any row. I mean, if you can forget about extreme neck strain for two plus hours, the movie must be something special.

"Topsy-Turvey" is something special. The movie details the creation of what many consider to be Gilbert & Sullivan's masterpiece, "The Mikado". I had wanted to see it from the moment I heard of it because I have something of a history with that particular operetta. It's a long story, but suffice it to say that I didn't care a whit for musical theatre until I saw a production of this play at the Stratford Theatre festival when I was fourteen. I was converted that night.

The movie itself starts slowly, but it only takes about fifteen minutes to develop a full head of steam. The relationship (if one can call it that) between Gilbert, the composer and Sullivan, the lyricist is wonderfully played out despite the fact that they are rarely on screen together. All around them, a wonderful cast re-creates what it was like to mount a theatrical production in the late nineteenth century.

The movie has a lot going on in it. I had some trouble discerning at times why a particular actress was having her leg bandaged or an actor was complaining about his pay. I think that was the idea. You were supposed to see how much was going on beyond the production. Each actor and member of the production staff brought their own baggage to the production, but the end result was one of the most enduring piecies of musical theatre in history.

To single out a specific actor would be to take away from what is ultimately a fine ensemble piece. Besides, I haven't been able to pull up the Internet Movie Database this evening, so I don't remember a sigle actors name. Ha! Bet Roger Ebert never had to admit to that!

I have one complaint that seems to be the same with every English film I see - what is with the sound? I have difficulty making out what the actors are saying at times when it seems awfully important. I have experienced this in most every English film I have seen, so I imagine it is something with the technology they use, but it's starting to bug me!

However, for the most part, this film is an enjoyable comedy that is well worth the 160 minutes it asks you to invest. Enjoy!