Saturday, February 11, 2017
I'm in Heaven
Top Hat tells the story of the whirlwind romance of Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont. They meet, flirt, misunderstand each other, fall in love, fall out favor and eventually decide to marry, all the while singing and dancing. What is this film telling us about love and romance? Does "the course of true love never did run smooth"? What is it based on? What is the role of communication and (mis)understanding? What about the marriage of Horace and Madge: is that a failed relationship -- or just another stage? Are Jerry and Dale really in heaven -- or is it all an illusion?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Top Hat, like other Hollywood blockbusters, creates a romance that is fantastical with a resolved ending. Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont create chemistry through their singing, dancing, and acting. Over the course of the movie, they fall in love and end up happily ever after. Their story of romance tells us that obstacles prevent us from loving someone, but if you truly love that person you will overcome those hurdles. This film shows that love is never easy, but the challenges you have to overcome to love each other will strengthen your bond. As Dale and Jerry build the beginning of their relationship, Dale misunderstands who Jerry Travers is. During the time of her confusion, we want her to realize the truth and be with Jerry since he is portrayed as an extraordinary man. This misunderstanding is supposed to create an obstacle for the protagonists to overcome. Ultimately they find out the truth and fall in love with each other. The miscommunication created suspense and frustration for the audience, but when they find out the truth the audience feels relief for the characters. Although I was rooting for Dale and Jerry to fall in love, their relationship is an illusion of reality. The whole movie is about the life of the top .01% of people who have the luxury of flying to Italy on a moment’s notice. Almost no one can afford the luxuries of Dale and Jerry. The obstacle they overcome for each other’s love is silly and unrealistic, whereas people in the real world have to persist through real urgent problems. Their relationship is a fantasy since they end up happily ever after. In real relationships, partners have problems and complications that test their love. Even though Jerry and Dale is a relationship to root for, the audience should not believe that is how real relationships work. For the
ReplyDeleteI feel this is an ideal romance plagued with a conflict like every movie to obstruct and pause the happy and romantic ending until the end. Every romance must have a conflict to be a movie or it would be too short and boring. The film ultimately tells us that true love will always find itself yet it will not be as smooth of a journey as one expects. There will be bumps in the road but the fact the two married at the end after trudging through the conflict shows that their love for each other was strong enough. With the lack of communication and understanding, the viewer gets the idea that their love for each other is still developing. In my mind, romance in movies is a buildup that requires the two characters to face a conflict and slowly bond with each other. At the end, in most romance movies, the two lovers will admit their love for each other and resolve the conflict. When Dale slaps Jerry, most man (without knowing of a reason) would lose interest but Jerry continues to pursue her. That is one of the first signs of true love if he still shows interest when she doesn’t (due to a misunderstanding). On the other side, Dale believes he is Madge’s wife but when Madge tells her it was ok (another miscommunication), Dale enjoys herself. From this we see the biggest dance and sing number of the movie because the love between them is able to shine through the conflict at that time. I also feel that Madge and Horace show a parallel to Jerry and Dale’s love as I believe Madge and Horace DO NOT represent true love. I feel that if Madge truly loved Horace, she would have a greater reaction to his affair. She merely smudged it for a while and laughed. She does punch him but that is only after she finds him “cheating” AGAIN. Overall, I do feel that at the end of the film, Jerry and Dale ARE in “heaven” after the dark clouds of misunderstanding get cleared and they reach the resolution of their journey to true love.
ReplyDeleteFred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers’, Top Hat illustrates the idea that true love, love at first sight, exists. Early in the film, Dale Tremont arrives at Jerry Travers’ hotel room to ask him to stop tap dancing. Instantaneously Travers falls in love with her, buying her all of the hotels roses and hijacking her carriage. Love at first sight is a message common in Hollywood films; it is still seen today in films such as Twilight and La La Land. Top Hat also adheres to the idea that “the course of true love never runs smooth”; it does this in two parts. First there is obvious confusion Tremont has between Horace and Jerry. This drives most of the plot, and creates humor when Dale and Madge have conversations about “Horace”. The second part of an unsmooth course is shown in the love triangle of Madge, Horace, and Violet. Even though Violet is never shown in the film, Horace claims to be in love with her; this is a point of conflict in the film because he is married to Madge. This love triangle also creates humor in the film as Horace tries to nervously confess, but is so anxious that Jerry has to for him. Even though Horace and Madge’s marriage affirms the statement that “the course of true love never runs smooth”, I believe their marriage also serves another purpose. Horace and Madge’s relationship is used in contrast with Jerry and Dale’s relationship. By having an old, married, out of love couple in the film it makes Jerry and Dale’s love seem younger and happier.
ReplyDeleteFred Astaire’s Top Hat portrays the biggest number of the film, Cheek to Cheek, as a mockery of what true love really is. As Fred Astaire dances with Ginger Rodgers, he sings “Heaven, I’m in heaven”, but in reality as he tries to seduce the young woman with his voice, what he is saying is quite ironic. One typically thinks of heaven as a beautiful, perfect place and in this moment Jerry is referring to his relationship with Dale as perfect, as if they were in heaven. Their love is quite the opposite: in her mind, Jerry is cheating on his wife and is trying to have an affair with her and she slaps him. This is not the perfect relationship or even a good friendship, so this contrasts with the idea that their love is perfect, as if they were in God’s presence in heaven. After all, the 8th Commandment in the Bible is God telling the people not to commit adultery, which is basically what Jerry is doing in Dale Tremont’s mind. Even though they dance together, literally cheek to cheek, close together in a very romantic fashion, their love is not remotely perfect in this moment. It takes time as it is a process, to develop a “true love” and a seemingly perfect connection. Furthermore, in this instance Jerry and Dale are not in heaven, but the song uses satire to mock what it truly means to be in God’s pristine home. This dance sums up the entire film which portrays a very imperfect love, ridiculing Jerry’s song depicting their love as if they were actually in heaven.
ReplyDeleteTop Hat shows that misunderstanding is inevitable in a relationship and communication is the only solution. This misunderstanding is shown in the two major relationships in the movie: Dale and Jerry as well as Horace and Marge. Dale and Jerry have a communication disconnect throughout the movie as Dale is of the belief that Jerry is married to Marge. The entire film illustrates a myriad of bad luck such as Jerry being handed Horace’s hat and briefcase before meeting Dale, Horace arriving late to dinner, and in general Marge, Horace, Jerry, and Dale never being in the same place at the same time to work out the truth. These events culminate in two slaps, unnecessary fighting, heartbreak, and a fake wedding. While lack of communication and misunderstanding is caricaturized in Top Hat for comedic effect, it is true that these problems occur in real relationships. An example of a relatively realistic scene that highlights the communication problems in relationships is at the end of “Cheek to cheek”. They are on the terrace and they are talking about why their relationship isn’t working by literally dancing as well as figuratively dancing around their problems and not saying what they mean but rather insinuating it. Dale says to Jerry “I know who you are now”, and she is talking about the fact that he is Marge’s wife, but he thinks she is talking about his famous tap dancing show. If she had simply said what she meant and not been vague the entire problem would have gone away and she wouldn’t have turned down his proposal. The relationship between Marge and Horace also lacks proper communication. Marge keeps insinuating that Horace is having an affair with Dale, and he keeps thinking that she is talking about his affair with Violet. An example of their bad communication is when she tells him “a little birdy told her” about the affair. She is talking about Dale, whereas he thinks she is making reference to their date at the zoo. Both of these examples of misunderstanding occur when people in a relationship merely insinuate what they mean rather than being forthright. Honest communication leads to a deeper understanding of the other person that is necessary for a good relationship.
ReplyDeleteTop Hat is a great example of the well-known saying “the course of true love never did run smooth” due to the fact that Jerry and Dale lack effective communication, complicating their path of love. From the very beginning, Jerry and Dale do not formally introduce themselves, which starts many of the problems later. For example, the major miscommunication in Astaire’s Top Hat is that Dale believes Jerry is actually Madge’s husband, Horace. It all begins when Dale is at the front desk of the hotel in London and the concierge points to Horace on the second floor. His figure is partially blocked by a chandelier and then, unbeknownst to Dale, Jerry approaches Horace and runs downstairs holding Horace’s briefcase and cane. Throughout the film, Jerry does not really have a chance to fix Dale’s perception of him because he doesn’t know that she thinks he is a different person. Dale does not refer to Jerry by name, which would have solved this problem since Jerry would have corrected her. It should be noted though, that Horace insisted Jerry keep his identity a secret to protect his reputation as a performer in Horace’s show Top Hat. It was very frustrating as an audience member because I kept thinking that if there was more communication between the two of them, this problem could have been solved. This lack of communication was a big problem that led to other problems like the alleged marriage of Dale and Beddini and Madge discovering Horace’s affair.
ReplyDeleteAll Hollywood classical movies include a protagonist with a goal, in Top Hat Jerry Traver’s, the main character, goal is to be with Dale Tremont. Dancing and songs help unravel their love and track their hearty romance. The first dance scene, “No Strings”, show Jerry as a free man who doesn’t want anyone is in life, but then he turns around and catches eye with Dale. He is immediately intrigued and head over heels for her beauty. “No Strings” is the start of Jerry and Dale’s risqué love. The second dance, “Isn’t it a lovely day to get caught in the rain”, is my personal favorite because as their love grows, they grow closer to each other both physically and emotionally. However, there love is based on a misunderstanding; Dale is under the impression that Jerry is a married man. A major theme in the film is communication and how important it is. Dale is extremely conflicted about her love for Jerry because she doesn’t know that he is a single man. Communication, specifically in relationships is extremely important; love is all about over coming communication problems and being on the same page as your significant other. Being on the same page means understand exactly what is going on so that there is no room for confusion and conflict. Once Dale figures out who Jerry really is and they decide to get married, making it seem as though they are in “heaven”. True love is not an easy, smooth path, instead it is rather bumpy and filled with surprise. In the end, Jerry and Dale end up as the cliches, happily ever after.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI believe this film promotes the idea that love is different depending on when it’s felt. When Jerry and Dale fall in love, he describes the feeling as heaven when dancing with her, but the other marriage in the film between Horace and Madge, is at times disastrous. Throughout the film a misunderstanding gets in the way of Jerry and Dale, so there is not much of a case to be made that they are not “meant for each other” however Horace and Madge clearly have issues, possibly beyond repair. Still, various times throughout the film, Marge is pushing Dale to find a husband and settle down, despite her own marriage making her less than happy. Because this marriage is so poor, but Marge insists Dale should get married, I don’t think the film tries to make you believe that marriage is meant to be a wonderful thing the whole time. Instead the film is saying that it may be great at first, but down the road it won’t be as good. Despite this knowledge Marge still feels it’s necessary, so the film also must be saying that although marriage will not be as great down the road, it’s still a necessary action to take. With all this in mind, it is safe to say that Jerry and Dale may feel in heaven at first, but the film hints that down the road their heaven will not be as sweet as it was at the beginning.
Top Hat tells a story of unexpected romance between Jerry Travers and Dale Tremont. At the beginning of the movie when Jerry sings the song “No strings attached”, we realize that he is not looking for a relationship and enjoys being single. His mind is quickly changed when he meets Ms. Tremont in the middle of the night and realizes that he is falling for her. Although their relationship is very complicated and suffers many misunderstandings, their love proves to overcome any obstacle. There are many misconceptions between the two lovers which creates confusion and roadblocks delaying their relationships. Their main misunderstanding is when Dale believes Jerry is Horace, Madge’s husband, and never confronts him about it. Instead she uses violence and lies to deal with the issue. On the other hand Jerry also worsens the situation as he does not ask Dale why she is acting so strange by slapping him in the face. Communication is key to a healthy relationship, not only with couples but also with friendships. If Dale and Madge would have talked about their men and used their names in conversation the confusion would have been resolved. For the audience this film was very frustrating to watch but at the same time kept you intrigued. Every scene would leave you unsatisfied wanting the lovers to communicate and realize what was happening right under their noses. This movie teaches the lesson that communication is very important or it will lead to misunderstanding and failure. Dale believed she knew the real story but in reality she had gotten the whole situation mixed up. If she or Jerry had asked more questions it would have avoided conflict between them and also Horace and Madge. Overall, although Dale and Jerry end up happily together, the course of true love does not always run smoothly.
ReplyDeleteThe saying “the course of true love never did run smooth” is ideally portrayed in Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers’ Top Hat. Both relationships, that of Dale and Jerry as well as that of Horace and Marge, show complications particularly in terms of effective communication. The major miscommunication between Dale and Jerry is the fact that Dale falsely believes Jerry is married to Marge. This miscommunication was due to a very simple, almost comical, sequence of bad luck in which Jerry was given Horace’s briefcase and hat before meeting Dale. There are several more comically unlucky phenomenons of bad luck, none of which being more prominent than the fact that all four characters interestingly enough never had the chance to all be together, which was a little frustrating as a viewer. If they had all been in one place at the same time, they would have been able to sort out who was really with who, which would have made the slaps in either relationship something to look back and laugh at instead of genuinely perceiving them as hard times in the relationships that either couple eventually had to overcome. In this case, ignorance is definitely not bliss. Despite the fact that Top Hat is intended to be a comedy, this shouldn’t undermine its effectiveness in accurately depicting some of the hardships endured in relationships because of a simple lack of communication. It stresses the importance of being open with a potential significant other, and to not shy away from the perceived difficult task of sitting down with somebody just to clarify something you’re skeptical about, because it most definitely can pay off; the way it would have had Dale expressed her concern to Jerry face-to-face.
ReplyDeleteI think that this movie has a deeper insite in love and romance than the generic love movie. In the movie, Jerry and Dale fall in love without ever knowing each others real names. This to me is a very pure form of love. I think that the saying the course of true love never did run smooth can be accurate however, as misconceptions about what other people were telling Dale made her believe that Jerry was someone who he wasnt. The movie is showing the audience how important communication can be, because even though Dale and Jerry were in love, their relationship was almost ruined because of a lack in communication. Lack in communication can also be seen as the root of why Horace and Madge's relationship was going to shambles. Although together they are very casual as Madge doesnt think that Horace would cheat on her. However, because of a lack in communication and the fact that Horace really did cheat on Madge, their relationhsip will most likely crumble in the future. Based on how Jerry and Dale's relationship is going, that they couldnt even figure out each others names, even though they are in love, their relationship will most likely turn out just like Horace and Madge's if they dont communicate more.
ReplyDelete