the groundhog day project

Something I didn't know: a Broadway revival of The Pirates of Penzance had apparently done quite well in 1981. Universal pushed for a film version, but it wouldn't come out until 1983. In the meantime, Fox pushed out the send-up The Pirate Movie , beating the straight adaptation to the big screen. But, I really didn't want to talk about the pillaging of the theater but rather the pillaging of women, the patriarchy, and all the usual stuff I might talk about. The "noble custom" that dictates that the eldest daughter marry first, the youngest marry last, with nary a question of whether or not any of them want to marry. But, even on the other side, Frederic asks of Ruth (apparently before he's met other women, even though I'm sure he and his shipmates have raped and pillaged and plundered plenty) if she's beautiful. Almost immediately after meeting Mabel, he declares that he loves her and may want to marry her, because that is what he thinks non-pirate...

I figure most people reading this (unless of course you found it while scouring the Internet for reference to The Pirate Movie ) have never seen The Pirate Movie , probably haven't even heard of it. Generic spoof titles get lost in time. But, The Pirate Movie was actually #5 at the box office its opening weekend. I did not, however, see this movie in the theater. I don't rightly recall when I first saw it, but it was probably as soon as it was on video (not sure how fast that happened in 1982). Apparently, quite a few people saw it in the theater. The weekend, by the way: E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial in its 9th week. I definitely saw that on the big screen. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in its 3rd, and I swear, I'm pretty sure I saw that on the big screen. Things Are Tough All Over , opening that weekend, and no, I have never heard of it either. An Officer and a Gentleman , in is 2nd week, and obviously, I saw that one. The Pirate Movie Rocky III , in its 1...