Sunny Side Up (1929) is a loud, messy, and totally sweet time capsule.

You should definitely watch this if you have a soft spot for the days when movies were just learning how to talk. It is perfect for a rainy Sunday when you want to feel gentle and maybe a little bit silly. If you hate high-pitched singing or plots that make no sense, you will probably turn it off in ten minutes. 🎬

Janet Gaynor is Molly, and she is just so earnest it kind of hurts. She lives over a grocery store with her friend Bee, and their room looks like a stage play set, but in a cozy way.

The sound quality is... well, it’s 1929. Everyone sounds like they are shouting from the bottom of a very deep well.

The microphones were probably hidden in the flower vases or something. You can see the actors standing very still sometimes, probably making sure the mic picks up their lines. 🎤

Then we have Jack, played by Charles Farrell. He and Janet were the big 'it' couple back then, and you can see why. They have this weirdly intense chemistry even when they are doing something boring like looking at a car.

Jack is rich and miserable because his girlfriend Jane is a piece of work. He drives his massive car into the city and ends up at a block party where he meets Molly. It’s the classic 'rich boy meets poor girl' thing, but with more singing.

The block party scene is a total chaotic mess. There are so many extras and half of them look like they don't know where to stand. I spotted one guy in the background just staring at the camera for like five seconds straight. It made me laugh out loud.

The movie is way better than something like Nearly a King because it actually feels like it has a soul. Even if that soul is a bit loud and screechy sometimes.

I have to talk about the 'Turn on the Heat' number. It is absolutely bonkers. It starts with girls in parkas in the snow, and then the sun comes out, and suddenly they are in grass skirts. Then the set literally starts to melt and catch fire because they are singing about how hot it is. ☀️

It’s one of the most creative and strange things I’ve seen in an early musical. It feels like the directors were just throwing everything at the wall to see what worked with this new 'sound' thing.

Sometimes the movie drags a bit. When they go to the mansion on Long Island, the energy just sort of dips. We spend a lot of time watching people walk across very large, empty rooms. It’s a bit like Betty Be Good in that way, where the plot just stops for a bit.

But then Janet Gaynor smiles and you sort of forgive it. She has these eyes that look like they are always about to spill over with tears. It's very effective.

Charles Farrell isn't the best singer in the world. He kind of talks-sings his way through the songs. But he’s so handsome in that old-fashioned way that it doesn't really matter. He looks at Molly like she’s the only person in the world, even when forty people are dancing behind them.

There is this one bit with a grocery store sign in the background. I spent like three minutes trying to read the prices of the canned peas instead of listening to the dialogue. It’s funny how the little details of 1929 are more interesting than the script sometimes. 🥫

El Brendel is in this too, doing a Swedish accent. It’s... a lot. Some people find him funny, but I think he’s an acquired taste. He pops up every few minutes to do a bit that feels like it belongs in a different movie.

The movie is surprisingly long, almost two hours. For a simple story about a girl and a guy, it takes its sweet time getting to the point. But the ending is exactly what you want it to be. It's a big, happy hug of a finale.

It reminds me a little of Hurry, Doctor! but with way more heart and less cynicism. It’s just a very sweet, very loud piece of history.

I noticed the costumes are all very shiny. Like, suspiciously shiny. Everyone looks like they were polished with wax right before the camera started rolling.

If you can ignore the hiss of the old film strip, there’s a lot of magic here. It's not perfect, and the acting is a bit stiff, but it’s real. You can feel them trying so hard to make this new 'talkie' thing work.

Anyway, it’s worth a look if you want to see where musicals really started. Just don't expect a masterpiece. It's more like a very colorful, very noisy scrapbook. 📖