Hi, I’m 47 years old and just now catching up on TCM... my first Fred and Ginger movie was Swing Time, which I really enjoyed. But this one is just over the top and frustrating without being funny. If I’m going to watch a screwball comedy, it has to at least be funny. Although I never found Fred Astaire to have good comedic chops... or even acting ability, for that matter. Yup. I said it. I have one more Fred and Ginger flick to check off (Shall We Dance) and then I’m done. Btw, I adore Ginger Rogers, so I that helps.
Screwball comedies just aren't for me. I just find the characters so despicable and unlikeable and I'm getting more and more furious as the terrible plot unfolds as I wait for justice to befall our hateful, arrogant protagonists. But of course, that never comes to pass and they instead are awarded for being disgusting human beings. Dancing is nice, but not enough to make the rest acceptable.
Top Hat is basically what would happen if you put Astaire and Rogers' previous film, The Gay Divorcee, into the blender. The plot is a little simpler, but essentially the same kind of extended mistaken identity hijinks, several of the same supporting players, like Erik Rhodes again playing a gay-coded foreigner, and Edward Everett Horton as the nervous sidekick. Those who weren't in The Gay Divorcee appear in the next one over, Swing Time, throwing an air of over-familiarity over the whole thing, depending on the order you saw them in. That said, it's got great songs ("Cheek to Cheek" being the most memorable), great dance numbers (they really are in sync, those two, and the way they get there is a beautiful manifestation of how their instant relationship forms), and amusing comedy bits. Helen Broderick as Horton's wife is quite funny, actually, and was probably my favorite character in the piece. This was a big hit at the time, and it may be THE iconic Astaire and Rogers picture, even if all of them are fairly similar.
Eureka! I've found it! Finally! The root of every storyline in every Three's Company episode can be traced directly back to Top Hat!
Ah...what can you say?...I guess when I walk outside on that first day of spring, after a long cold winter, and it looks like someone just spewed a Jackson Pollock painting everywhere and all is color and warmth...I'd like to think it's because somewhere up in the sky Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers just danced across heaven...
frustrating plot? it's an early screwball comedy. and when you go into a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film, it's more about their dancing anyway. anything more than that is a bonus
Plot? What plot? Who needs a plot when you've got gorgeous gowns, impeccable tuxedoes, Fred and Ginger's dancing, remarkably stylish sets, and music to set your heart a flutter?
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Comments 1 - 15 of 17
Duke of Omnium
The plot is silly and lightweight, but you can say the same thing about most operas, or even A Midsummer Night's Dream.What matters here is Fred Astaire dancing, both alone and with Ginger Rogers. And the dances are sublime.
TomReagan
Hi, I’m 47 years old and just now catching up on TCM... my first Fred and Ginger movie was Swing Time, which I really enjoyed. But this one is just over the top and frustrating without being funny. If I’m going to watch a screwball comedy, it has to at least be funny. Although I never found Fred Astaire to have good comedic chops... or even acting ability, for that matter. Yup. I said it. I have one more Fred and Ginger flick to check off (Shall We Dance) and then I’m done. Btw, I adore Ginger Rogers, so I that helps.crazy_bitch
Screwball comedies just aren't for me. I just find the characters so despicable and unlikeable and I'm getting more and more furious as the terrible plot unfolds as I wait for justice to befall our hateful, arrogant protagonists. But of course, that never comes to pass and they instead are awarded for being disgusting human beings. Dancing is nice, but not enough to make the rest acceptable.girafa
"There's probably some little thing you did, you see, carried away from the moment, that offended her sense of decorum.""Well, if I did, I'm going right down and doing it again."
Siskoid
Top Hat is basically what would happen if you put Astaire and Rogers' previous film, The Gay Divorcee, into the blender. The plot is a little simpler, but essentially the same kind of extended mistaken identity hijinks, several of the same supporting players, like Erik Rhodes again playing a gay-coded foreigner, and Edward Everett Horton as the nervous sidekick. Those who weren't in The Gay Divorcee appear in the next one over, Swing Time, throwing an air of over-familiarity over the whole thing, depending on the order you saw them in. That said, it's got great songs ("Cheek to Cheek" being the most memorable), great dance numbers (they really are in sync, those two, and the way they get there is a beautiful manifestation of how their instant relationship forms), and amusing comedy bits. Helen Broderick as Horton's wife is quite funny, actually, and was probably my favorite character in the piece. This was a big hit at the time, and it may be THE iconic Astaire and Rogers picture, even if all of them are fairly similar.JStein
Amazing dance performances of course, but do yourself a favour and skip past the plot.MilenaFlaherty
Saw this again today in a restored 35 mm print. Beautiful and such fun. And I'm sure I missed the Gertrude Stein reference the first time around.Tarris1
Instant favoritelocovoco
Eureka! I've found it! Finally! The root of every storyline in every Three's Company episode can be traced directly back to Top Hat!Ah...what can you say?...I guess when I walk outside on that first day of spring, after a long cold winter, and it looks like someone just spewed a Jackson Pollock painting everywhere and all is color and warmth...I'd like to think it's because somewhere up in the sky Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers just danced across heaven...
coffeejazzlofi
Camille Deadpan
This movie is funny haha. I usually don't go for this kind but it's actually very enjoyable.bartleby187
frustrating plot? it's an early screwball comedy. and when you go into a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film, it's more about their dancing anyway. anything more than that is a bonusClassicLady
Plot? What plot? Who needs a plot when you've got gorgeous gowns, impeccable tuxedoes, Fred and Ginger's dancing, remarkably stylish sets, and music to set your heart a flutter?george4mon
a very overrated film with a frustrating plot.Brand Bland
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