Have no fear that Topsy-Turvy will so disorient you that you’ll lose all track of time; I had no trouble keeping the time considering how often I looked at my watch throughout the course of the film. A Gilbert and Sullivan operetta wouldn’t last as long as this film and that’s including an intermission. I can’t recall a film in recent memory so much in need of an editor as this one. Scene after scene runs unnecessarily long and the first half of the film prior to the staging of The Mikado itself could have been drastically reduced.
Perhaps films such as Moulin Rouge! and Chicago have placed in my mind unrealistic expectations on Topsy-Turvy seeing that these former films fall more squarely in the musical genre while the latter is a drama about theatre and music. Still, I had high hopes that Topsy-Turvy would sail along more like the whimsical HMS Pinafore and less like a labored three-week Atlantic crossing. Alas, there is little full-steam ahead in this film.
In all fairness, the movie does contain some strong points. First and foremost, the acting. The entire cast from bit player all the way up to the leads Jim Broadbent (Gilbert) and Allan Corduner (Sullivan) own their characters and fully commit themselves to their craft. I also love that there is hardly an attractive person in the entire cast; something about that feels right to me – like the filmmakers cast the best actor for a role and not the most attractive one (for this reason alone, you must love British cinema). Outside of acting, the film’s costume design won an Oscar and one doesn’t have to venture far into the film to see why. Perfect period costumes and wonderful stage costumes reveal both a strong attention to detail and an eye for beauty.
I believe that even a novice fan of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan will enjoy the second half of Topsy-Turvy as the film finally settles down to focus specifically on the staging of perhaps Gilbert and Sullivan’s most famous operetta, The Mikado. One can’t help but find compelling the sheer logistics and internal wrangling that accompanies the production of theatre.
If you’re a die-hard fan of Gilbert and Sullivan, theatre, or films about 19th Century England, you will likely find this film delightful. For everyone else, I recommend picking up the film’s soundtrack and skipping right to the good stuff – the music.
I’ve never actually eaten tortilla soup, but I imagine it tastes spicy, perhaps a bit tangy, and would likely please my palate. Unfortunately, 
I imagine 
Moon
I have a love hate relationship with superhero movies. OK, truth be told, 
The Nines
I actually saw 
Occasionally, a quality film flies below the radar such that you only hear about it many years after its initial release. 
While I’ve watched 
I wish someone would have warned me to avoid 
Perhaps I give film critics too much credit. Have you ever had a similar thought as the credits roll on a film that “shouldn’t be missed” or is “one of the year’s ten best”? As I walked out of the theater following a showing of 
This Russian-language film provides a powerful retelling of 
Have you ever had the experience of walking through a local art fair and finding, sandwiched between the caricatures of rock stars and stale cityscapes, a unique piece of art that’s as refreshing to the imagination as it is stirring to the soul? A special something that resists being categorized, yet beckons like a good friend to sit with it a spell and enjoy its company. In the realm of film, 
As I say about so many films that tackle deep subjects, “I wanted to like this movie,” but for all its fine elements (acting and soundtrack are first rate) 
Ironically, 
