Good movie but grossly overrated

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

I think this is a cute comedy - a clear variation made in 1982 of the Gilbert and Sullivan 'Pirates of Penzance'. This movie lends itself more to teenage girls. It is a fun movie! My daughter loved it - probably because it gave her someone to look up to or fantasize emulating. My daughter liked the costumes. There was no swearing, no blood or violence. It was good clean fun. The music and singing was a big hit for our family while watching it. The movie was not a big hit, the acting was not great, no-one got any big awards. But it was a feel good movie that was exciting for young teenagers to watch. It took a long time to come to DVD. I wish it was available on Vudu.

I was a theatre snob when this film came out. I'd seen the play (operetta/light-opera) and other Gilbert and Sullivan offerings, and when this film was announced I donned my elitist hat, and wrongfully snubbed this film. At least in public.Privately I thought it was okay, but still had misgivings. I mean, the theatre was an affair for those with true desire to see stage performances: A thing enjoyed by a certain club. To have it popularized and reworked for "the masses" felt like a jab. Like having something private torn away from you to be shared with all.Well, like I say, I had mixed feelings regarding the film. On the one hand I found it a delightful fantasy for adults, with tons of innuendo and jokes. On the other hand it felt like a high-concept sexploitation film for teenagers, and that really outraged this viewer.Or it did.Through this confluence of emotions, and a few more years and screenings later, I've come to love it for what it is. A reminder of a somewhat simpler time for the youth oriented, but still ever so marginally polluted with 80's teenage sexual tension. A somewhat not-so-subtle attempt to pacify (not emasculate) the male. A heartfelt affair that actually has a lot of pleasantness to offer, but it's also rather saccharine to boot.To me this is the kind of film you watch on a lazy weekend afternoon, or with some other friends (notably couples) you grew up with for a little romantic boost.There's a number or two more added here from the original production, the dialog of course resembles nothing of the Victorian dictates once recited by the thespians, and there's lots of contemporary 80's references thrown in to boot.I like the movie. I really do. Don't get me wrong. And, after a fashion I'm glad it was made, but as I say, it feels like a private world of us theatre snobs was forced out into the open without our approval. Even so it is a fun watch. Particularly Kristy McNichol's witty delivery. She's the star, and shines brightly.Other than the superficial alterings of dialog and music, that's the real shift in this film. Kristy is the hero, not Frederick a-la the stage production. She's the one that gets things rolling, not her love interest. In retrospect, that was a logical film marketing maneuvre. So, in essence, you're watching the female version of the Pirates of Penzance.There's tons of comedy here. Too many scenes and too many references to list. Some are delivered pretty fast, and almost whiz by if you're not on your toes. Note Mabel's expression as she rallies the police force with her final line. Or her interaction with the homage to Chief Inspector Crusoe. Really priceless comedic stuff. Other humor is a little telegraphed, some sight gags work, others not as much. Again, we're getting romance driven humor. Sex games without the sex.Still, if you ever get a chance, go see a revival of the original "Pirates of Penzance". Or, better yet, rent or buy the televised stage production with the original 1980's cast available on DVD.Either way give "The Pirate Movie" a shot. Me, I sure do wish I was young again, and had a woman like Mabel. It's probably the one roll in which I thought Kristy McNichole was really desirable. If you're a dude like me, and was around when this film was released, then watch it for that alone :-) Enjoy.

For Christopher Atkins The Pirate Movie was a followup to the big hit he scored in The Blue Lagoon. Since his public expected him to look as much as he did in The Blue Lagoon, Atkins spent a lot of time without too many clothes on. And he had his hair curled once again for The Pirate Movie. He never had curls like that naturally, but it was done for The Blue Lagoon and had to be done here as well. Just like Mario Lopez had it done that way on Saved By The Bell.The great sex symbol of the early Eighties was teamed with Kristy McNichol who had a following of her own with the television series, Family. The Pirate Movie is a modern version of The Pirates Of Penzance with some contemporary music added to the score of Gilbert&Sullivan.Of course Gilbert&Sullivan purists will be horrified, but actually if The Pirate Movie inspires some kid to check out classics like the original Pirates Of Penzance, than the making of The Pirate Movie will serve its purpose. In this film you'll get to hear some modern music together with such classics as the Model Of A Modern Major General.The film was shot in Australia and it sports an Aussie supporting cast behind the leads of Atkins and McNichol. I have to say this is one of the few films you'll ever see where the male lead is prettier than the female one. That was Christopher Atkins's problem the rest of his career.

Well, I hate to admit to being wrong, but there actually is a worse Sullivan & Gilbert adaptation than "Gentlemen of Titipu". This one seems to pin its hopes on the presence of some delectable eye candy – namely, Chris Atkins, fresh from taking his clothes off in "Blue Lagoon". This is a performance that "runs the emotional gamut from A to B" – as the brilliant Dorothy Parker once snipped about the equally brilliant Katharine Hepburn.Don't worry, friends; it goes downhill from there.The film in question goes by the title "The Pirate Movie". The reason for the title is, apparently, that the people responsible have pirated some pieces of Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance" – just enough to make you wish they had pirated the whole operetta and jettisoned the drek they added to the maimed remains they used.Appearing in this wanton travesty are a bunch of little- and un-knowns who couldn't have salvaged the production even if it was good. Which of course it isn't. So the whole baggage sinks under its own dead, dead, dead, boring weight. Well, it wasn't their fault, really; it was a job for a lot of people who, judging by their credits on the IMDb, didn't get many. The names are withheld to protect the presumed innocent.The story of "The Pirate Movie" follows the general and well-known outline of "Pirates of Penzance" (which is easy enough to look up if you don't know it) – although with a number of rather stupid changes that sap it of its original vitality. To substitute for this vapidity, a composer was hired to write some "up" music. His talent, if any, is scarcely on display. What we get meager quotations from some of Sullivan's "Penzance" tunes – although not always readily recognizable and usually not in the spirit of the original. Then there is a lot of stuff in a two-bit modern idiom that is also wholly out of touch with Sullivan's originality and wittiness.This film is so awful on so many levels it's hard to find anything positive to say about it. The color is vibrant; that is to say, wasted on what it shows. The sound is at least too good for the material.Ah, well. At least Atkins runs about in descamiado mode for most of the film, which I suppose is some slight compensation. And not enough. Avoid this turkey.