Crossing another film off the list of my wife’s favourite movies that I have not seen brought me to The Pirate Movie. Not to be confused with Pirates of the Caribbean (Johnny Depp) or Pirates (adult), but the 1982 comedy, musical, adventure shot in Australia. It is now considered a cult classic, full of innuendos, laughable dangers, and makes some references to other more recognizable films almost making it a full on parody. The film is about a pirate and a girl who fall for each other but have to deal with other pirates before being truly happy. There is plenty of singing (the lyrics are tough to hear through the instrumental), clever camera tricks (low budget solutions to have pirate ships at war), and lots of laughs (a mix of cheesy and less-cheesy dialogue). With a PG rating and little to no violent action, the movies appears to be kid friendly but upon a closer listen, you will notice more jokes aimed for a more mature audience. Based on the opera, The Pirates of Penzance (which premiered in New York in 1879), the film was adapted by writer Trevor Farrant and directed by Ken Annakin (who also directed Battle of the Bulge in 1965, a war film starring Henry Fonda). Both leads look like they are having fun, their chemistry works, and their scenes together are the highlights of the film. Kristy McNichol was previously in White Dog (1982 drama as a dog trainer), sang in The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981 drama with Dennis Quaid), and was next in Just the Way You Are (1984 music comedy as a flute player) and Love, Mary (1985 tv movie drama as a troubled teen who is dyslexic). Christopher Atkins was previously in Child Bride of Short Creek (1981 tv movie drama about a religious cult with Diane Lane), The Blue Lagoon (1980 adventure with Brooke Shields), and was next in A Night in Heaven (1983 drama as a male stripper) and 27 episodes of Dallas (1983-1984 long running drama about a family wealthy from the oil business).

1982, PG, 1h 45m

Distributor – Fox

Budget / Worldwide Box Office (in millions) – $5 / $9

Links

IMDB – 5.1

Box Office Mojo

Wikipedia