The Leap Year Blogathon – Pirates of Penzance (1983)

This is a post dedicated to The Leap Year Blogathon! taking place over at Taking Up Room this weekend.

Tnx Rebecca for letting me take part!

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“[during an incredibly fast-paced song]This-particularly-rapid-unintelligible-patter-isn’t-generally-heard-and-if-it-is-it-doesn’t-matter!” – The Pirate King

Number of Times Seen – Twice (Cable in the 80’s and 26 Feb 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Upon his 21st birthday, a young indentured pirate wants to use his freedom to start a new life, but things don’t always go as planned.

My Take on it – When Rebecca announced this blogathon, this film was the very first one taht came to mind since I didn’t recall anything about it besides the fact that Feb 29th plays a very integral part in the story.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Gilbert and Sullivan musicals and watching this film helps hammer that idea in.

The story as presented is actually quite boring and not much really happens along the way to help make things become more enjoyable.

The overall story is done in a fun way but it doesn’t make much sense which hurts things too much.

The film sports a great cast and Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt both stand out in their roles.

Loved seeing Angela Landsbury here also.

The best scene in the film is obviously the most famous one too and that is the Major General song which works because of the rapid fire rendition of it.

The story is a bit too shallow and bland and that doesn’t help make things enjoyable enough to watch instead of just listening to the soundtrack of the play or movie.

Bottom Line – Fun idea that makes very little sense. The cast is great and both Kline and Ronstadt both shine in their roles. The obvious scene standout here is the very famous Major-General song that works well here. The story itself is a bit too bland, but the way that the music is presented helps make things a bit more enjoyable.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Kevin Kline won the 1981 Tony Award (New York City) for Best Actor in a Musical for “The Pirates of Penzance” Broadway 1981 to 1982 production and re-created his role in this cinema movie. It was Kline’s second Tony Award after having won one for “On the Twentieth Century”. Kline also starred in the precursor New York Central Park stage production and that park production’s subsequent made-for-television movie, The Pirates of Penzance (1980). (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)

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