Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia!
July 18, 2008
Universal etc.
Musical, Comedy, Romance
DVD
B

This at times feels like a throwback to, no, not ABBA's glory days in the '70s, but rather the early '80s, when the cheesy, nonsensical musical sub-genre reached some sort of pinnacle, or depth, with Grease 2 and Pirate Movie.  In fact, watching this in the theater the first time (I went twice), the flipper-ballet on the jetty felt like a Pirate Movie out-take.  And yet, even when Pierce Brosnan is proving himself the worst singing James Bond since Timothy Dalton in Sextette, the movie has more heart than most modern movies.  Much of this is due to star Meryl Streep, who of course out-acts everyone but nearly out-sings everyone, with the notable exception of Amanda Seyfried as her daughter Sophie.  Seyfried has an incredible voice that Mean Girls gave no hint of.  In a plot with an incredibly fuzzy timeline (I think it's set in '97, but this is debatable), twenty-year-old Sophie wants to finally meet her father, and so she invites the three most likely candidates to her wedding:  Brosnan, Colin Firth (very sweet as the now gay one), and Stellan Skarsgård,  Meanwhile, other guests arrive, including Streep's best friends, one played by a surprisingly slapsticky Julie Walters.  Not every moment in the movie works, but the ABBA covers are great and I can't think of a weak one in the bunch.  Also, the Greek scenery is gorgeous.

Norma Atallah was Debra in Yentl and is Irini here.  Kirsty Mather, who's a Hen here, would be John's Boat Girl in Pirate Radio.

Mean Girls

Mean Girls
April 30, 2004
Paramount
Comedy
DVD
B+

This may well be the most heavily quoted movie on the Internet.  (Mean Girls/ Harry Potter cross-over memes alone make up a good percentage.)  As such, it's a little hard to watch now because I kept waiting for various lines to come up.  That said, the script by 33-year-old Tina Fey, who plays Math teacher Ms. Norbury, remains not only witty but surprisingly complex, and not just for a teen movie.  Yes, there are such obligatory moments as the makeover and the Girl Vomits on Her Crush, but I like that the movie is willing to show the "mean girl" in every girl (and some of the guys), including our heroine, played by a pre-off-the-rails Lindsay Lohan.  Lohan as Cady (from Cady Woodlawn I wonder?) isn't afraid to play a complex, not always likable character who genuinely does suffer for her choices and make amends (unlike Drew Barrymore in Never Been Kissed).

It's also great how the supporting and even minor characters (you go, Glenn Coco!) all have chances to shine.  I'll note two performers in particular, since we'll be seeing more of them.  Amy Poehler at 32 is a little young to be playing a mother of a teenager, but it is a scene-stealing role and one of her great comic performances.  She and her SNL costar and friend Fey would often reunite, notably (for the purposes of this blog anyway) in 2008's Baby Mama.  And 18-year-old Amanda Seyfried, who plays dumb blonde Karen, would have much more opportunity to show off her wonderful singing voice in later movies, including Mamma Mia! (also '08).

Bruce Hunter was NSA Agent #1 in Good Will Hunting and is the Mathlete Moderator here.
William R. Phillips was Man at Diner in Romy and Michele and is a Student here, so he presumably looked young for his age.  Jo Chim, who plays the Saleswoman at 135, would soon be Ma Bang's Assistant in New York Minute.