Our Favorite Films: "Top Hat"

by Arturo Virzi

I like to think I’m unbiased when it comes to film criticism, treating all film genres equally, but musicals are the one I have the most trouble with. The Sound of Music and Singing in the Rain are just a few of the classic musicals hailed as masterpieces today, and despite the fact I will never call them by any means “bad films”, I will hesitate when it comes to putting them in my list of all time favorites. 

So I was surprised to find myself so engaged while watching Top Hat, one of the ten Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire films for RKO. Top Hat is a film dripping with wit, talent, and delight. It doesn’t constrain itself with realism, by portraying a wealthy, elegant, picturesque version of Europe, and not the effects of the recession at the times.

Top Hat’s history makes it a parable of joy and hope amidst great conflict and trouble. It offered audiences a glimpsed at, not only how things were, but how things could be. The story is deliberately light-heart, but this does not detract from the abundant word play, which is biting, quotable and fun. 

The story includes elements that might be considered campy, like a thick-accented villain, and a cunningly rebellious butler, but they are given such fun dialog, that their dimensionless nature serves more as a treat than as a flaw. Dealing with archetypes is a tricky business, but when they’re given such fun situations and lines their over-the-top qualities turn into endearing traits. 

I now know why Fred Astaire is considered the 5th greatest male star in Hollywood by the AFI. Seeing an actor with so much talent makes the world seem unfair for the rest of us mortals. How can this guy sing, dance, and act so well, no one should be allowed to have so much, it puts the rest of us at a huge disadvantage. 

Astaire is, without a doubt, a character actor, similar to same way Woody Allen had his neurotic stand-up comedian/writer, and Charlie Chaplin had the Little Tramp. Astaires’s character is a charming, witty, romantic hero who uses dance as a motif to move the plot forward. 

Unlike singers, who tend to be numerous in the world of film, Astaire is a uniquely talented tap dancer, and I regularly found myself amazed at his incredibly creative, carefully constructed and complex choreography. I never considered myself a fan of tap dancing before, but now I must say Top Hat has turned me into a believer. 

The greatest asset Top Hat has to its favor is the fun factor. It was most likely the shortest hour and a half I have ever experienced in my life. It epitomizes the feel-good-movie, filled with great songs, dance numbers, hilarious dialog, idiosyncratic characters, a mistaken identity plot, and a fun dose of romance to boot. In an age of boring, dull, and monochromatic romantic comedies, it is incredibly refreshing to see such a good one. It’s not an understatement to say that Top Hat has something for everyone! Incredibly accessible to modern audiences despite its age, and brimming with nostalgia for those who miss the “better” days of Hollywood.

Top Hat is one of those films that brings up the age-old question: “why don’t they do ‘em like this anymore”. I usually reserve my final judgment on a film one week after watching it, but I can’t help calling it one of the best film I’ve ever seen.

I constantly watch heavy-handed, complex, and emotionally charged films, and Top Hat is the kind of film that remind me just what made them so endearing to me in the first place. Viewers are escapists, seeking to get taken away by a narrative. Not every film needs to mimic Ingmar Bergman’s existential motifs. Sometimes, all a film really needs to be is fun.

This is what makes Top Hat so incredibly endearing, it’s extremely fun and witty, and I can’t wait to see it again after catching up on the rest of the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers RKO films.

Now, excuse me, while I go do that. If you haven’t been exposed to this magnificent duo, i suggest you do the same and start with Top Hat. And you’ll know why it’s one of “Our Favorite Films”.