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sabotai · 09-08-2021, 09:23 PM

Top Hat (1935)

Directed By: Mark Sandrich
Written By: Allan Scott, Dwight Taylor
Starring: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers
Length: 101 min.
Genre: Musical Comedy

1936 Oscar Nominee: Best Picture
1936 Oscar Nominee: Best Art Direction
1936 Oscar Nominee: Best Dance Direction
1936 Oscar Nominee: Best Music, Original Song "Cheek to Cheek"

An entire movie based on a mistaken identity joke.

Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) is in London and dancing in his hotel room. dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers) is on the floor below him and goes to his room to complain. Guess what!? Jerry falls in love right then and there and follows her around London.

Well Dale mistakes Jerry for a man named Horace who is married to an acquaintance of her's. And they awkwardly play the pronoun game in conversations throughout the movie to keep the mistaken identity joke going.

The biggest sin, and I've been trying to stay away from spoilers in the recent reviews, but here's your warning to stop reading if you do plan to watch Fred Astaire movies. (But I already spoiled in my first line anyway) The biggest sin is that the reveal happens off screen. The moment where she finds out the Fred Astaire is not the married man she thought he was is not shown. She's on the verge of finding, cut to a scene with some side characters, cut to a scene with Rogers and Astaire talking about how she mistook him for someone else.

Maybe they filmed the scene and it didn't work so they cut it. I don't know. But I don't know how you don't have the big payoff happen on screen.

My non-enjoyment of the movie went beyond that. It's a genre I don't particularly enjoy. Like I said in my last Fred Astaire movie review, I just don't get tap. The dance scenes were boring to me. I did laugh a few times at the dialog, though, despite myself.

But, you know, even though I'm not enjoying a lot of these movies, in a weird way I'm still enjoying the process. I like that I know where songs like "Cheek to Cheek" and "Lullaby of Broadway" came from. Not just reading about where they came from in Wikipedia, but experiencing it myself. If that makes any sense.

Anyway, did not like the movie, and I'm in the small minority.

My Rating: 4 / 10
IMDB Rating: 7.8 (18k votes)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% Critics (42-0), 90% of Audience (5k ratings)

09-08-2021, 09:23 PM	#337
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	Top Hat (1935) Directed By: Mark Sandrich Written By: Allan Scott, Dwight Taylor Starring: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers Length: 101 min. Genre: Musical Comedy 1936 Oscar Nominee: Best Picture 1936 Oscar Nominee: Best Art Direction 1936 Oscar Nominee: Best Dance Direction 1936 Oscar Nominee: Best Music, Original Song "Cheek to Cheek" An entire movie based on a mistaken identity joke. Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) is in London and dancing in his hotel room. dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers) is on the floor below him and goes to his room to complain. Guess what!? Jerry falls in love right then and there and follows her around London. Well Dale mistakes Jerry for a man named Horace who is married to an acquaintance of her's. And they awkwardly play the pronoun game in conversations throughout the movie to keep the mistaken identity joke going. The biggest sin, and I've been trying to stay away from spoilers in the recent reviews, but here's your warning to stop reading if you do plan to watch Fred Astaire movies. (But I already spoiled in my first line anyway) The biggest sin is that the reveal happens off screen. The moment where she finds out the Fred Astaire is not the married man she thought he was is not shown. She's on the verge of finding, cut to a scene with some side characters, cut to a scene with Rogers and Astaire talking about how she mistook him for someone else. Maybe they filmed the scene and it didn't work so they cut it. I don't know. But I don't know how you don't have the big payoff happen on screen. My non-enjoyment of the movie went beyond that. It's a genre I don't particularly enjoy. Like I said in my last Fred Astaire movie review, I just don't get tap. The dance scenes were boring to me. I did laugh a few times at the dialog, though, despite myself. But, you know, even though I'm not enjoying a lot of these movies, in a weird way I'm still enjoying the process. I like that I know where songs like "Cheek to Cheek" and "Lullaby of Broadway" came from. Not just reading about where they came from in Wikipedia, but experiencing it myself. If that makes any sense. Anyway, did not like the movie, and I'm in the small minority. My Rating: 4 / 10 IMDB Rating: 7.8 (18k votes) Rotten Tomatoes: 100% Critics (42-0), 90% of Audience (5k ratings)